B.C. high school football saw a big gain in player registration but also a steep decline in its coaching numbers. Is this the new normal? (Photo by Blair Shier property of Blair.photo 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football

Why B.C. high school football’s latest numbers might just be the first barometre of the new normal in our provincial high school sports world!

VANCOUVER — Set against the unpredictable backdrop of a pandemic now just weeks shy of its second birthday in this province, no one can yet fully define what the so-called new normal in B.C. high school sports is going to look like.B.C. high school football, however, released numbers earlier this week which may well provide […]

Carson Graham quarterback Logan Mellish fends off West Vancouver defensive lineman Reza Nia while Eagles' guard Sherwin Gozali (right) looks on. (Photo by Blair Shier property of Blair.photo 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football

Carson Graham’s Logan Mellish: Eagles’ senior QB and BCHSFB Player of the Week is “…the blackjack dealer, making sure all of the other guys get the cards”

NORTH VANCOUVER — As the starting quarterback of the Carson Graham Eagles, Logan Mellish puts all of his cards on the table each time he takes command of the huddle.“I love contact,” states the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Mellish, whose selfless, old-school approach to the pivot position has helped position the Eagles as provincial contenders amongst a […]

Vernon head coach Sean Smith has his AA team ranked No. 1 in Varsity Letters' Big 5 preseason coaches poll. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.com 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football

Our countdown to kick-off begins! Varsity Letter’s Big 5 B.C. High School Football preseason AA rankings have arrived!

In anticipation of a return to play on the high school football fields this fall, we’ve returned with the first of Varsity’s Letter’s own back-to-back preseason B.C. Big 5 rankings.Today, we will start with the AA ranks, with the AAA to follow in the coming days.Three games are scheduled in the Week 0 window Sept. […]

Abbotsford Panthers head coach Jay Fujimura chats with former Panthers' great Chase Claypool during a recent Subway Bowl playoff game at B.C. Place Stadium. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football

Chase Claypool: How four games from his standout 2015 senior season at Abby Senior left the clues which have now become conclusive with Steelers Nation!

ABBOTSFORD — Watching the breakthrough game of Chase Claypool’s young NFL career this past Sunday proved to be a prideful moment for John Barsby head football coach Rob Stevenson, despite the fact that back in 2015, his Bulldogs found themselves on the wrong end of a season-ending playoff loss fuelled by a performance many agree […]

Feature Podcast

10.07.20: Varsity Letters-The Podcast salutes Worlds Teachers Day! Longtime teacher-coaches join Tsumura in saluting our classroom mentors!

Hey, it’s Howard and welcome to another episode of Varsity Letters—The Podcast.   Today we open the show with a short tribute to the late Karin Khuong from Mike Carkner, one of her basketball coaches at Terry Fox Secondary in PoCo. Khuong, 16, lost a two-year battle with cancer on Sunday. The theme of the […]

Carson Graham head coach Brian Brady will coach his Eagles in a Subway Bowl playoff game Saturday atop Burnaby Mountan, while his teammates from the Clan's 2003 Hardy Cup-winning season are set to be honoured. (Photo by Blair Shier property of www.blair.photo)
Feature High School Football University Football

Subway Bowl karma: Carson coach Brady has Eagles opening playoffs Saturday at SFU as his 2003 Clan team is set to be honoured

NORTH VANCOUVER — Brian Brady always knew it was going to be a little dicey in terms of the timing from the moment he heard that he and the rest of his 2003 Simon Fraser Clan football teammates were going to be honoured during the team’s final GNAC game of the season this Saturday atop […]

Carson Graham's Liam Scott (right) is one of the province's top receivers, but circumstance has moved him into the Eagles' starting quarterback role the past two games. His positional status for Saturday is likely a game-time decision. (Photo by Blair Shier property of www.Blair.photo)
Feature High School Football

Buchanan Bowl ’18: Carson Graham’s senior WR-turned-QB Liam Scott says “We bring our rugby to our football”

NORTH VANCOUVER — It’s perhaps because Carson Graham Secondary has so steadfastly stared down the trend towards athletic specialization and so tirelessly trumpeted the benefits of multi-sport competition to its student-athletes, that a group as special as the seniors who populate the 2018 Eagles’ varsity football team can reach their Grade 12 years together, with […]

The Carson Graham Eagles get a huge test of their resiliency as AAA conference play hits its stride around our province. (Photo courtesy Blair Shier)
Feature High School Football

Varsity Letters’ Big 5 weekend preview: Our picks for B.C. high school football’s top games

Welcome back to Varsity Letters’ Big 5 weekend preview. Today, we look at the top games being played Friday and Saturday in the world of B.C. high school football. It’s taken a few weeks, but now we’re right into the thick of AAA conference games.

Handsworth's Tate Williams (left) and Charlie McMillan of Carson Graham are a pair of Grade 11 quarterbacks set to battle for the Buchanan Bowl on Saturday in North Vancouver. (Photos by Blair Shier/www.blair.photo)
Feature High School Football

Buchanan Bowl ’17: Grade 11 QB’s McMillan & Williams makes Eagles v. Royals a classic

NORTH VANCOUVER — Brian Brady saw the promise and set the timeline in his head as far back as the fall of 2014.That’s when the head coach of the senior varsity at Carson Graham Secondary first ID’d the Grade 8 quarterbacks starting for both the Eagles and their crosstown rivals, the Handsworth Royals.Brady figured right […]