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SCOREBOARD
FRIDAY
Kelowna 21 Rutland 20
Belmont 34 Ballenas 21
Windsor 52 Pitt Meadows 7
West Vancouver 34 WJ Mouat 23
Clarence Fulton 19 Omak (Wash.) 14
Notre Dame 53 Holy Cross 0
Terry Fox 24 Mt. Douglas 14
Nanaimo District 10 Spectrum 0
GW Graham 35 Argyle 12
John Barsby 35 Samuel Robertson 6
Nanaimo District 0 Spectrum 0
St. Thomas More 38 Abbotsford 0
Nechako Valley 19 South Kamloops 13
Hugh Boyd 33 Robert Bateman 14
Langley 44 Frank Hurt 7
THURSDAY
Cochrane (Alta.) 28 Vernon 24
GAME REPORTS
LATE FRIDAY
KELOWNA 21 at RUTLAND 20
KELOWNA — A two-point convert play in the late stages to Kyle Zakala steeled the purpose of the Kelowna Owls and carried them to an emotional 21-20 win over crosstown rival Rutland VooDoos, in a derby clash Friday at the Apple Bowl.
“We have had a rocky start to prepare for this season,” admitted Owls head coach Chris Cartwright. “We hoped that this game would to help us get over some adversity that we faced the last few weeks. I think it did.”
Fuelled by the Zakala convert, the Owls mounted a game-winning defensive stand ahead of next week’s Eastern Conference opener at Burnaby Lakes against red-hot St. Thomas More.
“We put trust into our offense to go for the win with the two-point conversion,”
continued Cartwright. “You have to go for it with a game like this. The conversion and defensive stand shows the potential we have with this team.”
Starting quarterback Marcus Athans, threw for 223 yards with the highlight a 70-yard touchdown pass to Kieran Carter.
“We are hoping that this game helps our players understand that we have the potential to do great things this year,” the coach said. “It is going to be our goal to clean up some mental errors on the field with penalties and tackling better. We have to tackle better going into conference play next week.”
BELMONT 34 at BALLENAS 21
NANAIMO — A fast start to the game equalled a fast start to its season for Victoria’s Belmont Bulldogs.
The Dawgs built a 28-7 halftime lead behind the play of quarterback Kalen Jules, then hunkered down to hold off Parksville’s Ballenas Whalers 34-21.
“It feels great to start the year 2-0 but we understand that we have a lot of work to do in preparation for our conference play starting next week,” said Belmont head coach Alexis Sanschagrin. “Offensively, we have a lot of different weapons and I thought we did a good job at distributing the ball. Kalen made good reads and managed the game really well.
“Our defense had a good game plan and we managed to make them one-dimensional,” added Sanschagrin of the fact that Ballenas completed three passes the entire game. “Still, their quarterback is a special athlete and he was able to break few long runs.”
Jules went 15-of-23 for 231 yards and four touchdowns. Carter Price hauled in a pair of majors while Tyson Boyd and Cole Johns also caught one TD pass apiece. Jalen Chung rushed for a score.
“There is a lot of respect between both programs and we always enjoy this island rivalry,” Sanschagrin concluded. “Playing under the lights was a fun experience for our kids.”
FRIDAY
WINDSOR 52 at PITT MEADOWS 7
PITT MEADOWS — North Vancouver’s No. 2-ranked Windsor Dukes opened their Double A campaign showing a level of veteran experience and balance that many say makes them a provincial title contender.
Julien Perri rushed for a pair of touchdowns as part of team-leading 77-yard evening, while Ryan Baker, Daniel Cruz and Ryan Werbowski all rushed for one TD apiece.
The quartet combined for 24 carries and 139 yards.
Dimitri Volev went 8-of-23 for 107 yards and one touchdown, while Baker also went 4-of-5 for 72 yards.
Ben McMichael and Werbowski combined to catch eight passes for 116 yards while Werbowski also had a Pick Six among his two interceptions.
Baker led with 12 tackles while Mitch Townsend supplied nine tackles and three sacks.
Jackson Kelly was noted for a superb two-way game.
WEST VANCOUVER 34 at W.J. MOUAT 23
ABBOTSFORD — After a few seasons of sticking with the program, the West Vancouver Highlanders are looking like one of the province’s most improved teams.
Quarterback Ben Corbett flashed his gridiron IQ throughout the evening, finishing 17-of-23 for 303 yards and four touchdowns as the injury-challenged Highlanders showed their resolve to grad a confidence-boosting road win over the Hawks.
“Mouat was big and strong offensively with incredible home run capability,” said West Van head coach Pooyah Dourandish. “They have athletes all over the field and we knew it would be a challenge to contain their misdirection run game. I am very proud of the guys we are playing simple fundamental football and it is paying off.”
Corbett’s two main targets thrived.
Nic Zen caught had 146 yards in receptions and three touchdowns while Ethan Johnston had 93 yards and one score.
A Highlanders’ defence led by Ryerson Wallace (eight tackles, one sack) and Connor Chapman (three tackles, two sacks) caught the eye of Mouat head coach Travis Bell.
“Our offense really struggled in the first half after our defense gave us some great stops, and credit West Van for putting a good defensive scheme in place,” said Bell. “We were always in it, but when we needed to score after a stop we didn’t, and when we needed a stop after a score, it just didn’t happen.
“That being said, we also made too many mental errors if we are to give ourselves a chance to compete in the (Triple A) East. There were lots of positives to build on and I’m hopeful we can clean up the sloppy stuff with some more games under their belt.”
Nathan Hausermann led the Mouat ground game with 17 carries for 67 yards, while quarterback Ezra Garcia threw a touchdown pass to Liam Jarvis.
Eddie Escobal with tackles, and Ethan Erickson and Liam Jarvis with four tackles and a sack apiece, paced the defence.
HOLY CROSS 0 at NOTRE DAME 53
BURNABY — In case you thought there wasn’t a new wave of star power ready to emerge with the 2016 Subway Bowl AAA finalist Notre Dame Jugglers, the East Van school showed it’s still got plenty of talent, and young talent to boot.
Quarterback Will Clarke threw three touchdown passes and running back Jerrell Cummings scored three times, via air, land and special teams, as the Jugglers topped Surrey’s Crusaders at Burnaby Lakes.
“We played a sound game offensively and defensively and took advantage of some Holy Cross errors to build the lead,” said Notre Dame head coach Denis Kelly, whose team broke the game open with 26 second-quarter points behind the play of the aforementioned Grade 11s. “QB Clarke showed flashes of big-play ability,” noted Kelly. “Jerrell Cummings was outstanding on both sides of the ball and on special teams.”
The Notre Dame scoring started on their first drive when slotback Dylan Rachel took a run from scrimmage 40 yards for a major. Alex PInson added the convert for a 7-0 lead.
Cummings added another first-quarter score on a 10-yard run.
In the second, Cummings took a pass from Clarke 80 yards for a major score on the first play of the quarter. Then middle linebacker Cameron Mah tackled the Holy Cross QB in the end zone for a safety to make it 23-0.
Clarke then threw touchdown passes of 40 yards to tight end Pauljeet Dhami and 45 yards to Rachel to make it 37-0.
Pinson added a late second quarter field goal of 20 yards to make it 40-0 at the half.
In the third quarter, Cummings scored his final touchdown of the night on a 70-yard punt return.
Backup running back Flixzl Reyes added a late third quarter touchdown run of 40 yards.
“Tough loss today,” admitted Holy Cross head coach Conrad Deugau. “We left points off the board. We were inside their five twice and couldn’t convert. That’s a tough pill to swallow. We have improved since last week, despite the score. It’s a game that the score didn’t reflect the overall effort. Notre Dame is very good and their offence has more dynamic elements to it than last year’s. Life without Moretto is still pretty good.”
Notre Dame opens Western Conference play against an explosive foe from North Delta.
“We face a talented Seaquam team next Friday in our first league game and that means we must have a great week of preparation to deal with their outstanding athletes,” Kelly said.
No. 4 MT. DOUGLAS 14 at No. 1 TERRY FOX 24
COQUITLAM — Triple A No. 1-ranked Terry Fox built a 24-0 lead and beat No. 4-ranked Mt. Douglas of Victoria at Percy Perry Stadium.
Jevoun Jacobson opened the scoring for the provincial champion Ravens, and a Cade Cote two-point covert made it 8-0.
Jayden Severy followed with a pair of touchdowns for Terry Fox (1-1), playing its first BC competition since its Subway Bowl walk-off win over Notre Dame last December, including one from 55 yards out.
Mason Reeves made a tackle for a safety to make it 24-0 before the Rams came back with a pair of touchdowns.
Mt. Douglas fell to 1-1 with the non-conference loss.
“Terry Fox played a stifling defence but our players did not quit,” said Rams’ head coach Mark Townsend. “We thought Dante Carbone did a nice job coming to play quarterback for us in the fourth quarter to provide a spark. Fox is a well-coached team and have great talent. We will use this game as a means to improve.”
Carbone completed 6-of-13 passes for 109 yards, including a 10-yard TD pass to Connor Clarke who finished his night with five catches for 48 yards.
Ben Pierik scored the other Mt. Douglas major on a two-yard run.
Defensively, Soren Hallschmid, Zairech Kremler and Jake Ousted each registered eight tackle with OPunsted adding a sack.
FRANK HURT 7 at LANGLEY 44
LANGLEY — They are fielding a roster that, from an age standpoint, is closer to junior than senior varsity.
Yet the host Saints found some nice cohesion at McLeod Stadium on Friday behind a perfect passing performance from Grade 11 pivot Sam Colby.
His 84 passing yards were modest, but Colby went 10-for-10 and threw three touchdown passes.
Grade 10 quarterback Damien Pillhoffer also threw a touchdown strike while Grade 11 running back Corey Johnson carried 17 times for 127 yards and a score.
Senior Landon McArthur had five catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns.
“We are young, but scrappy, and really learning,” said Saints coach Ryk Piche. “This program is growing everyday.”
GW GRAHAM 35 at ARGYLE 12
NORTH VANCOUVER — Von Richardson has just kept getting better and better over his three seasons of senior varsity football with the Grizzlies.
Judging by his productivity Friday over three quarters, he’s ready to start peaking for the start of league play in a couple of weeks.
Richardson rushed for 214 yards and two touchdowns before sitting out the fourth quarter as the Grizz beat the host Argyle Pipers.
“What will this guy do when we give him a full game?” Mused Grizzlies head coach Laurie Smith. “Von isn playing his best football in the three years as starting running back for us. He came to camp stronger and faster than ever before.”
Dion and Darius Kelly both rushed for touchdowns in relief of Richardson while slotback Jesse Hough added a receiving major and a two-point convert.
“You won’t find a better possession slot receiver than Jesse,” noted GW Graham offensive coordinator Luke Acheson. “He always comes through with tough catches and the yardage we need.”
Jake Troyan, Cooper Middleton and Darius Kelly all registered sacks for the winners while safety Shane Whitehead had five tackles and corner Bradley Langlois an interception.
“We were dominated today, but we will stay positive and get back to work Monday,” said Pipers head coach Wayne Theobald.
Devin Ohea led Argyle with nine catches for a 127 yards. Quarterback Mac Ward went 16-of-25 for a 153 yards.
Jacob Green had 15 tackles and a sack while Nick Richardson had six tackles and an interception.
NANAIMO DISTRICT 10 at SPECTRUM 0
VICTORIA — In a game where points where at a premium, Anthony Comas was the explanation point and more.
Comas, the Islanders’ corner, picked off a Spectrum pass on a wide receiver screen and returned it 25 yards, as the lone scoring play of the third quarter carried Nanaimo District to a shutout in the provincial capital.
“We were in a good ballgame today,” said NDSS head coach Nate Stevenson. “Our defence played hard and really pressured the Spectrum offence but would give up runs too easily. We’ve got to work smarter within our scheme. Offensively we are still trying to find ourselves. Opportunities exist but we just aren’t hitting the stride we need.”
Finn Bradbrooke booted a five-yard field goal and an extra point.
Defensive end Zephyr Melnyk had four tackles and a sack while outside linebacker Dakota Moonshadow had two sacks.
Running backs Kyle Lindsay Donovan Davidson-Collie were held out of the end zone but combined to split 26 carries for 116 yards.
ST. THOMAS MORE 38 at ABBOTSFORD 0
ABBOTSFORD — Tyler Eckert took a toss and carried it 80 yards to the end zone Friday, adding three tackles ands a sack on the flip side as Burnaby’s Knights improved to 2-0 with a shutout win over the host Panthers (0-2).
“Abbotsford was a very tough and physical opponent and Samwel Uko is a very special player,” said STM coach Steve De Lazzari, referencing the Panthers’ exceptional senior running back in his post-game comments. “We took a little while to settle into the game but once we did we played really well on both sides of the ball.”
Eckert finished with 107 yards on eight carries, adding another touchdown,
Knights’ quarterback Dario Ciccone threw touchdown passews of 41 yards to Michael Simone and 10 yards to Vasco Repole, and also rushed for a major himself on a short sneak. On the evening, Ciccone finished with 185 all-purpose yards.
Nathan Nacario added a seven-yard touchdown run.
On the defensive side, Joel Pielak had eight tackles from his inside linebacker spot while Daniel Auld added six tackles. Mateo Carteri and Jonah Fridfinnson had four tackles each while Simone returned an interception 80 yards.
NECHAKO VALLEY 19 at SOUTH KAMLOOPS 13
KAMLOOPS — Corbin Brown powered his way into the end zone on the final play of the game, powering Vanderhoof’s Nechako Valley Vikes to a 19-13 win over the host Titans.
Brown, who shone on defence with three sacks, rushed for two majors on the evening, helping offset the efforts of Titans’ senior pivot Brody Israel passed for 160 yards and fired a pair of TD strikes to Grade 11 receiver Ryan Zamudio.
Samuel Albertson also rushed for one touchdown in the win and complimented Brown on the defensive side of the ball with a fumble recovery.
Also adding to the Vikes’ efficiency in the takeaway department was Will Pippy who managed an interception.
HUGH BOYD 33 at ROBERT BATEMAN 14
ABBOTSFORD — The Hugh Boyd Trojans got the start they wanted on their way to a 33-14 victory over the host Timberwolves.
The Trojans built a 27-0 lead at the half on two long runs from slotback Zach Jackson, a short plunge from H-back Austin Berry, and a 40-yard pass-and-catch from quarterback Byron Ruvalcaba towide receiver Shakur Lopez.
Abe Ravvin converted one of the scores, and Jackson also caught a two-point conversion throw from Ruvalcaba.
“We should have had at least one more score,” said Trojan head coach Bill Haddow. “We lost the ball on a bad snap from their one yard line, and squandered another of couple of opportunities.”
The second half was a sloppy affair as too many fumbles and far too many penalties dragged the action down to a crawl. Jackson, running from the QB spot, scored on another long run early in the third quarter to make it 33-0 before Bateman got a little traction late to get on the board a couple of times.
Jackson finished the game with 203 yards on just seven carries.
“Defensively, it was a pretty solid effort,” said co-ordinator Bruce Haddow. “We forced six turnovers (interceptions by S Reace Mok, and LBs Ryan Jensen and Austin Berry; fumble recoveries by defensive linemen Kamron Porbeni and Dayton Williamson, and Jensen) which added to the four we got the last week. It’s a pretty good start to the year. We’ve got another package to put in which we hope will continue to help us be tough to move the ball against.”
Hugh Boyd travels to Vernon next week to take on the Panthers.
“Huge test,” said Bill Haddow. “They are the real deal.”
Said Bateman head coach David Mills: “It was a very, very rough start for us today. Penalties killed us, discipline on defensive assignments killed us. I am extremely disappointed with our lack of discipline today, but ultimately, that falls on me. We cannot continue to play this way if we want to compete with the big boys.
“But I was very happy to see that there was no quit in this team,” Mills added. “They kept working and kept pushing the tempo. We tightened down defensively, forced some turnovers, and started to make some plays offensively. In the end, were a few plays away from making it a very close game.”
Boyd was up 6-0 after 1Q. Then it fell apart on us in the second quarter for us. Composure was lost and we shot ourselves in the foot with penalties. 27-0 at half for Boyd.
Second half started the same way, as Hugh Boyd ripped off a long run to go up 33-0.
But there is no quit in these boys. Even after being down 33 points, they kept fighting. We blocked the PAT to keep it form getting to 34. That seemed to rally the boys as we went on to score 14 unanswered and threatened a number of more times but just couldn’t finish the drives.
THURSDAY
COCHRANE (Alta.) 28 at VERNON 24
VERNON — The difference between winning and losing came down to the fractions on Thursday for the No. 2-ranked, host Panthers.
A bobbled, near-catch in the end zone on the final play of the game didn’t go Vernon’s way, and that was preceded by back-to-back rapid-fire first-half touchdowns, all of which combined to equal a four-point loss.
“We had one coverage error which cost us on a long bomb and didn’t recover the ensuing short kickoff which resulted in two touchdowns in two minutes and that was the difference in the game,” said Vernon head coach Sean Smith, whose team trailed 21-17 at the break.
The Panthers’ Charles Lemay, who had scored on a three-yard run in the first half, put Vernon on top 24-21 when he added a major score off a two-yard plunge in the fourth quarter.
Cochrane, as they had done all evening, came right back to take the lead, setting the stage for the home team’s last-second rally attempt.
With starting quarterback Thomas Hyett on the sidelines nursing an injury, Grade 10 back up Zack Smith, behind a 12-yard scramble, a five yard completion and a pass interference call, got his team into scoring range with three seconds remaining, but his pass top Brad Hladik for the win tipped off his hands and to the turf with a pair of Cochrane defenders converging,.
Hladik had opened the scoring, turning a bubble screen catch into a 56-yard touchdown.
Perez Vermeulen kicked a field goal and recorded an interception.
Lemay carried 20 times for 98 yards and two scores and had five tackles, while Hladik had four catches for 135 yards, a touchdown, an interception and four tackles.
Liam Alder led Vernon with six tackles.
“This was a great game for both sides,” said Smith. “Cochrane is a very well-coached and caught us on the game-winning reverse. They were a perfect pre-season opponent for us as they made us defend screens, long balls, quicks and misdirections. On defense they didn’t give us a lot in the passing game and we had to earn every yard.”
Vernon (1-1) hosts Richmond’s Hugh Boyd Trojans (1-1) this coming Friday, a rematch of last season’s B.C. Double A semifinals played at BC Place.
SATURDAY
10 a.m. — CENTENNIAL at SEAQUAM
1:30 p.m. — LORD TWEEDSMUIR at VANCOUVER COLLEGE
1:30 p.m. — HANDSWORTH at CARSON GRAHAM
1:30 p.m. — MISSION at SOUTH DELTA
SUNDAY
12:30 p.m. —PRINCE GEORGE at KELLY ROAD
3 p.m. —COLLEGE HEIGHTS at DUCHESS PARK
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