After Saturday's win over visiting Carson Graham, head coach Todd Bernett's Fighting Irish are 3-0 in AAA Western Conference play. A date Friday in Victoria against the Mt. Douglas Rams looms. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca)
Feature High School Football

09.22.18 FINAL EDITION: Varsity Letters’ B.C. High School Saturday Night Lights football report

LANGLEY — Welcome to the Saturday edition of Varsity Letter’s Week 3 B.C. High School Football Report. 

A long day of live university football has delayed our publication to the wee hours of Sunday morning. 

Thanks to the coaches for all of their assistance and patience.

SATURDAY

TRIPLE A

WESTERN CONFERENCE

CARSON GRAHAM 12 at VANCOUVER COLLEGE 42

VANCOUVER —  Allow the Fighting Irish a chance to set foot inside the red zone, and they’ve shown they can be masters of execution.

In fact that’s how the script unfolded Saturday afternoon at O’Hagan Field as VC stayed undefeated (4-0, 3-0) against a gritty and banged-up team of Eagles.

Vancouver College scored each of its five majors inside the 20s, including four off rushing plays, and another via the air.

Aiden Perry from 10 yards, Owen Ker from four yard, Daesaun Johnson from five yards, and quarterback Eric Zychlinski from one and then four yards accounted for the damage.

Zychlinski also threw a 17-yard TD strike to Josh Lum-Tong, as the Irish led 22-12 at halftime, then rode a stellar defensive effort over the final two quarters.

Basil Schincariol rushed nine times for 90 yards, Johnson 12 times for 90 yards and Perry six times for 73 yards.

Zychlinski went 10-of-15 for 132 yards.

“We were optimistic heading into the half down 22-12,” said Carson Graham head coach Brian Brady, whose team has remained competitive but is still winless (0-4, 0-3) on the season. “We weren’t able to sustain our drives and need to continue to execute consistently. Through our first four games there’s been good parts but we have yet to put together a full game.”

Challenged at the pivot position, Carson Graham has moved its best receiver, Liam Scott, under centre.

On Saturday, Scott went 18-of-34 for 216 yards, including a scoring strike to Kenneth Balucos, who finished with five grabs for 80 yards. Aamir Rajwani had five catches for 94 yards.

Carson’s defence was led by the eight tackles of Brendan Lifton and the two forced fumbles of Kwame Mensah.

Vancouver College got seven tackles from Javon Chahal, six from Adan Simpson, and two interceptions from Lukas Freres.

BELMONT 7 at SEAQUAM 50

NORTH DELTA — Sweet victory.

“We needed this win going into the bye week,” said Seaquam head coach Navin Chand after the Seahawks (1-3, 1-2) beat the Victoria’s visiting Bulldogs in convincing fashion to secure their first victory of the season. “Our team rebounded from the close loss to Notre Dame (26-21) the previous week.”

Quarterback Jay Mather led a balanced offence, going 14-of-19 for 167 yards, including a scoring toss to Corbin Grant, who caught five passes for 58 yards on the day.

Antonio Pamintuan rushed for two touchdowns as part of 92 yard day. Christian Carlon-Diaz rushed for two scores while Justin Eng and Mather each rushed for one. Jello Juatco paced the defence with six tackles.

The Bulldogs, set to host Notre Dame this Friday, dropped to 0-3 in the conference.

PACIFIC CONFERENCE

SULLIVAN HEIGHTS 0 at ERIC HAMBER 26

VANCOUVER — History, in the form of the program’s first-ever Triple A win, came Saturday for the host Griffins.

Eric Hamber quarterback Tom Shen threw scoring strikes to both Ryan Vijayaretnam and Thomas Iverson, the latter also scoring via a 48-yard pick-six play.

Jack Heath carried 16 times for 87 yards, whole Jacob Goodwin forced a fumble, recorded two sacks and made eight tackles from his defensive end position.

“It was a real team effort,” said Griffins’ head coach Bobby Gibson. “We are dealing with early season injuries and we’re seeing young guys stepping up and filling the gaps.”

Sullivan Heights head coach Gord Randall couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“We had nothing going, and got out-willed and out-executed,” said Randall. “It was a great demonstration of what happens when you don’t have a good week of practice leading up to a game. We had been gradually getting better each week, and this was a big step back. We need to focus on our pride this week and decide that we want to out-work our competition.”

RUTLAND 40  at WEST VANCOUVER 20 

WEST VANCOUVER — Jhavoun Blake was a player of influence on both sides of the ball Saturday for the visiting VooDoos (3-0).

Blake carried 16 times for 209 yards and four touchdowns, and also made five tackles, while returning a pair of kicks for 79 yards as Rutland moved into sole possession of first place in the Pacific.

Senior linebacker Chase Schumacher rushed for a pair of touchdowns and added six tackles.

“We came up with a strong stop on the first drive but got pinned deep on the punt and gave up a safety to go down 2-0,” summed West Vancouver head coach Pooya Dourandish. “From there we had a tough time containing their quarterback run game.”

West Vancouver quarterback Ben Welsh faced heavy pressure all day, going 13-of-34 for 234 and three touchdowns.

Welsh connected with receiver Matt Lane eight times for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Lane also had six tackles on defence.

First-year linebacker Harry Waddell had three tackles and an interception for a touchdown.

“West Van passed well and wouldn’t quit,” noted Rutland coach Peter McCall. “The game was in contention until the final minute.”

Rutland hosts Eric Hamber while West Vancouver hosts Nanaimo District in a pair of Friday games.

DOUBLE A

WESTERN CONFERENCE

No. 3 JOHN BARSBY 54 at HOWE SOUND 12

SQUAMISH — The visiting Bulldogs are on a roll with quarterback Cam Wright at the controls.

Wright, who was 18-of-29 for 240 yards, threw touchdowns passes of 21 yards to Steen Rasmussen, five yards to Zach Taylor, eight yards to Mason Scott and then seven yards to Taylor as Nanaimo’s Bulldogs (2-1, 2-0) remained perfect in conference play.

Taylor and Jacub Gillman each scored via four-yard runs while Rasmussen capped the scoring with a game-ending 16-yard pick-six. Gillman led the defence with nine tackles.

“Howe Sound has a bunch of brand new footballers on their squad and we thought they were first-rate competitors,” said Barsby head coach Rob Stevenson after his team’s treck to Squamish.

CROSS TIER

No. 5 AA HOLY CROSS 28 at EARL MARRIOTT 7

SURREY — Bigger than the game, Earl Marriott head coach Michael Mackay-Dunn and assistant Bill Haddow led their Mariners with heavy hearts Saturday, after learning of the passing of their friend and mentor Matt Phillips.

Both teams and officials gathered at centre field prior to the game to recognize a moment of silence for the B.C. High School legend and 2016 inductee to the B.C. Football Hall of Fame.

On the field?

The visiting Crusaders have done their best to stay engaged following what was essentially a two-week break brought on by the impact of opposition team scheduling.

On Saturday, it all came together.

Quarterback Andrew Hunt threw a pair of touchdown passes to T.J. Fujimura and another to Silas Marchan, while rushing for one of his own.

On defence, Kekeli Agbenu recorded four sacks while Matt Fraser and Grayson Wilson-Palm also had sacks.

“Offensively we moved the ball well and our playmakers did exactly what is expected of them and that’s to make big plays,” said Holy Cross head coach Conrad Deugau, whose team won one game all of last season but is 2-0 on the 2018 season. “I’m pleased with how well we’re executing on that side of the ball.

“Defensively it was a team effort as it should be. We got to the ball and forced a lot of fumbles. We didn’t get all of them, but that’s OK. It caused problems for their offence and that’s what we want to do.”

Trailing 14-0, the Mariners seemed to find their legs and responded with an impressive drive led by quarterback Byron Ruvalcaba that was capped off with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Sam La Roue.

Mackay-Dunn thought his team was lethargic and played a very sloppy game, but wasn’t about to make any excuses.

“We need to be ready to play no matter what time kick-off is, be it 12 noon, 5 a.m. or 11 at night,” he said. “You need to prepare accordingly and come to the park ready to play football.”

Holy Cross opens AA Western Conference league play against No. 2 Ballenas on Friday, while Marriott (1-3, 1-2) gets back to AAA Pacific Conference play Friday at winless Sullivan Heights.

NON-CONFERENCE

G.W. GRAHAM 12 at No. 2 BALLENAS 22

PARKSVILLE —Soft, slippery and wet.

The weather played havoc on the playing field, and by extension on the spread passing game of the visiting Grizzlies, and the power run game of the host Whalers.

All things being equal, Ballenas (3-0, 0-0) got off to a fast start.

Demar Hohnstein punched in a touchdown carry from four yards out, before quarterback Ben Chomolok found tight end Adrian Friesen for a 40-yard touchdown.

The Grizz battled back to make it 15-12 as quarterback Colby Bessette threw a touchdown pass to receiver Ashton Young and later called his own number on a scamper into the end zone.

In the fourth quarter, however, Kolby Jack’s three-yard TD run sealed the Whalers’ win.

Hohnstein finished with 13 carries for 138 yards while Steven Boley added seven carries for 108 yards.

“Overall we’re pretty happy because G.W. Graham has a great program and it feels good to beat them at both levels (senior and JV) for the first time,” said Ballenas coach Jeremy Conn. “We are playing physical football and we know we have some playmakers, but we have to execute better. We had too many blown assignments. I know the weather played a part in our turning the ball over and limiting our play selection but we had mental errors and technique mistakes we have to fix. GW exposed us at times.”

Bessette was 10-of-22 for 121 yards for the Grizzlies while Young made four catches for 54 yards

Ballenas’ defence was paced by Jack with eight tackles and Boley with six tackles and a sack. Friesen had two sacks and Scotty Williams a pair of interceptions.

“We started slow and fought back but ran out of time at the end,” said G.W. Graham head coach Laurie Smith. “Ballenas is a tough, well-coached team and we are sure hoping to see them again in the playoffs.”

LATE FRIDAY

DOUBLE A

NON CONFERENCE

LANGLEY 42 at CLARENCE FULTON 7

VERNON — The Langley Saints have had their share of ebbs and flows over the past few seasons.

It looks like 2018 finds them back on the rise.

“By mid-second quarter Langley took over and the result was never in doubt,” said Clarence Fulton head coach Mike Scheller after his host Maroons took it on the chin from the Saints. “Langley is a solid, physical team. They are very big on both sides of the ball, and they gave us trouble that way. They are quicker of the ball then we are and their penetration gave our offense all kinds of trouble. Defensively, we had some good moments, but in the end we could not compete with their physical run game.”

Langley quarterback Sam Colby, a modest 7-for-16 for 102 yards on the day, nonetheless threw three touchdown passes against two picks.

Running back Kori Johnson had 16 carries for 102 yards and also led the Saints on defence with nine tackles. Teammate Kai Thomas had eight carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

Thomas also had an interception while defensive end Harshaad Johul had four tackles, a pair of batted passes and a pick. Brody Thomas had six tackles.

“We have had three blowout losses to three good football teams,” Scheller continued of previous losses to Robert Bateman (40-8), Omak (Wash.) (52-7),” continued Scheller. “That problem lies with the head coach and I take blame for our performance. It has been unacceptable. We do not practice or work hard enough and it shows on the field. We will make some adjustments and improve.”

Fulton will look for its first win of the season next week in Prince George against Kelly Road, while Langley gets its toughest test of the season against No. 2 Ballenas in Parksville.

SCOREBOARD

FRIDAY

TRIPLE A

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Mission 30 Abbotsford 8

St. Thomas More 41 Mt. Boucherie 0

Lord Tweedsmuir 78 Centennial 7

Terry Fox 41 Kelowna 0

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Notre Dame 15 Mt. Douglas 12

New Westminster 36 Handsworth 6

PACIFIC CONFERENCE

Sardis 24 Spectrum 0

DOUBLE A

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Windsor 32 Argyle 0

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Samuel Robertson vs. Frank Hurt

NON-CONFERENCE

Robert Bateman 27 Westsyde 0

Langley vs. Clarence Fulton

Vernon 57 Salmon Arm 0

PACIFIC CONFERENCE

Earl Marriott 34 Sardis 20

W.J. Mouat 33 Eric Hamber 20

Spectrum 7 Sullivan Heights 6

Rutland 28 Nanaimo District 17

EXHIBITION

Kelowna 40 Salmon Arm 13

Lynden (Wash.) 23 Lord Tweedsmuir 0

Meridian (Wash.) 49 Mission 0

New Westminster 40 Abbotsford 6

Wenatchee (Wash.) 70 Mt. Boucherie 0

CROSS TIER

Ballenas 30 West Vancouver 20

St. Thomas More 30 Samuel Robertson 6

DOUBLE A

NON-CONFERENCE

Windsor 35 Robert Bateman 21

John Barsby 34 Langley 21

Omak (Wash.) 52 Clarence Fulton 7

LAST WEEK

SATURDAY

TRIPLE A

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Notre Dame 26 Seaquam 21

Vancouver College 41 Belmont 0

DOUBLE A

NON-CONFERENCE

Terry Fox 50 Vernon 7

G.W. Graham 42 Prince George 12

Argyle 27 Valleyview 6

Westsyde 42 Frank Hurt 0

South Kamloops 27 Nechako Valley 0

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