LANGLEY — Welcome to Week 4 of the 2018 B.C. high school football season.
We have broken out our coverage on the season’s showcase No. 1 vs. No. 2 AAA game between Lord Tweedsmuir and Terry Fox this afternoon in Surrey.
Click here to read about that game.
Otherwise, the rest of your Friday Night Light reports is right here.
Please keep checking back throughout the evening for updates!
FRIDAY
TRIPLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
No. 5 VANCOUVER COLLEGE 55 at MT. DOUGLAS 26
VICTORIA — Is it time to start talking about the Irish offensive line, and all the ways it has begun to come together in the name of a perfect start to the 2018 season?
No. 5 Vancouver College (5-0, 4-0) showed a first-time ranking this season to be no distraction, as it took its act to Victoria, and rushed for 358 yards and seven touchdowns against the host Mt. Douglas Rams.
“We had a great trip and a number of kids stepped up and had outstanding performances,” said Irish head coach Todd Bernett, who gave kudos to offensive line coach Burton Haig after the win.
“He was limitless in his scheme and creativity today,” added Bernett of Haig, as the head coach watched that line find ways to allow running backs Basil Schincariol (15 carries, 162 yards, three touchdowns) and Daesaun Johnson (seven carries for 116 yards and two TDs) to be at their most dynamic.
“Vancouver College were exceptional in all aspects of their game and deserve a ton of credit,” said Rams’ head coach Mark Townsend after his team fell to 2-2 in conference play, dropping a rare second consecutive league contest. “This was a convincing victory. Our players showed great effort but the execution was not there.”
It goes without saying that the Irish’s was.
Quarterback Eric Zychlinski from seven yards and Johnson from six, scored in the first quarter.
Johnson added his second from 69 yards, setting the stage for back-to-back rushing majors of 40 and four yards by Schincariol which made it 34-14 at the half.
In the third quarter, Zychlinski connected on a 19-yard pass to Bruce Soathis for a score, and Schincariol scored his third major from 52 yards out.
John Calica wrapped up Vancouver College’s scoring with a one-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Sam Mosky was stellar in defeat for the Rams.
He caught touchdown passes of 20 and 30 yards from quarterback Gideone Kremler, then rushed for a five-yard score of his own. Dante Carbone added a one-yard rushing major.
“Sam was terrific for us,” Townsend said of Mosky, who rushed for 96 yards, “and I cannot say enough great about Sebastian Hansen who played his heart out there on both sides of the ball and special teams.”
Hansen led the defence with six tackles while Carbone had four.
Matt Hoag with eight tackles and Minh Le with seven led VC, who also got an interception from Lukas Freres.
NOTRE DAME 3 at BELMONT 0
VICTORIA – Belmont forfeited game to Notre Dame.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
CENTENNIAL 12 at No. 3 ST. THOMAS MORE 35
BURNABY — Michael Simone seemingly doesn’t know how to waste a catch.
The St. Thomas More receiver made a pair of catches Friday night from quarterback Dario Ciccone and turned both into lengthy touchdowns as the Knights (4-0 2-0) kept their record perfect, beating the winless Centaurs (0-3, 0-2) heading into a clash against No. 1 Lord Tweedsmuir this coming Friday.
One of Simone’s grabs went for 50 yards and the other 60, as quarterback Ciccone was 5-of-6 for 160 yards and three scores.
Vasco Repole scored the team’s other receiving major from 25 yards out, part of three-catch, 45-yard outing.
On the ground, Julian Valerio led all rushers with 12 carries for 70 yards, and scored a touchdown from 25 yards out. Christian Commuzzi kicked all four converts.
On the defensive side of the ball, Vic Domingo had an interception return for a 45 yard touchdown.
Colin Dalla Vecchia led the defense with six tackles, while Daniel Auld posted four tackles and a sack. Ciccone and Repole also had interceptions as the Knights built a 35-0 halftime lead.
KELOWNA 10 at ABBOTSFORD 29
ABBOTSFORD — After three straight losses to open 2018, including its conference opener last Friday at Mission, Abbotsford head coach Jay Fujimura went into a week of prep looking for the signs that would tell him his Panthers (1-3, 1-1) were ready to get back on the winning track.
On Friday at home, the promise he saw was realized as Jalem Catlin rushed for 238 yards and three touchdowns, and Abby beat the visiting Kelowna Owls (1-3, 0-2).
“We came out tough and aggressive, something we were lacking in the first three games,” Fujimura said. “We had a very good week of film and practice and it showed on the field this week.”
Luke Smzutko rushed for 75 yards and a score while the offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage throughout with great lead blocking from Jordan Hogg and Calum Rowsell. Ryan Street recorded three interceptions while Catlin had one. Hogg had a trio of hurries and two sacks.
Kelowna never got into an offensive rhythm the week before in a loss to Terry Fox, so head coach Chris Cartwright was hoping his team would recapture that flow on Friday.
“At the end of the day, the only word I can come up with in our performance is deflated,” Cartwright said. “We thought after a hard-fought game against Terry Fox that we would gain some confidence that we are a good football team that can compete with anyone. Today, we did not see that fire on offence or defence.”
Quarterback Isaac Athans struggled with three interceptions. He threw a seven-yard TD strike to Anthony Kurkjian.
“Isaac is a leader on our team and our quarterback,” said Cartwright. “As a young player we are encouraging him to play like we know he can, which is play with instinct and be the athlete we know he can be.”
PACIFIC CONFERENCE
EARL MARRIOTT 14 at SULLIVAN HEIGHTS 0
SURREY — Byron Ruvalcaba threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Sam La Roue on the Mariners’ first possession and Ruvalcaba ran another in from two yards out on their second, leaving the rest to the defence in a shutout win over the expansion Stars (0-5, 0-4).
Mariners running back Restum Shakiri had a strong game, while Bubbacar Kinteh, Sam Baird and Sam La Roue, the latter with an interception, were defensive standouts for Earl Marriott (2-3, 2-1).
“It was good to bounce back from last week’s loss with some energy and a win,” said EMS head coach Michael Mackay-Dunn of a 28-7 loss to visiting AA Holy Cross. “Both ourselves and Sullivan are young teams that are still very early in the learning curve for this level of football.”
It was, after a poor outing last week in a 26-0 loss to Eric Hamber, a step up in play for the Stars.
“We challenged our guys this week, and I’m proud of the way they responded,” said head coach Gord Randall. “We still have to figure out how to start games. We came out flat, handed them 14 points in the first seven minutes and then settled in and battled the rest of the night. Full credit to EMS. Their coaches did a tremendous job turning them around from a rough one last week and having them ready to play a good, clean game. We’ll get back to the drawing board this week and build on some of the positive flashes we’ve shown. At this point it’s just a matter of putting it all together and being ready to go at the opening whistle.”
NANAIMO DISTIRCT 26 at WEST VANCOUVER 7
WEST VANCOUVER — A purposeful start and an inspiring finish were just the book-end chapters the visiting Islanders were looking for.
NDSS (3-1, 2-1) opened the game with a scoring drive capped by quarterback Finn Bradbrooke’s two-yard run, and then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kick-off which they turned into halfback Kyle Lindsay’s five-yard scoring run.
Tack on a 99-yard fourth-quarter drive capped by a three-yard Bradbrooke TD scamper, and a pair of fourth-and-goal stops by the defence, and you have the difference.
“Both teams brought a passionate effort,” said Isles’ head coach Nate Stevenson. “I am proud of the team for the competitive streak they showed.”
West Vancouver head coach Pooya Dourandish, who saw his team lose for the second straight week and fall to 1-2 in the conference, was adamant that his team try to move on.
“Poor coaching and poor execution killed us today,” Dourandish said. “We couldn’t score from the goal line twice, and we couldn’t stop the run. Credit to Nanaimo for their offensive execution. We need to forget about this one and move on quick if we want to have any success moving forward.”
Lindsay’s 11-yard run accounted for the Isles’ fourth major. West Vancouver scored on a TD pass from quarterback Ben Welsh to Matt Lane.
Connor Chapman rushed for 59 yards in the loss and recorded nine tackles.
Nanaimo District got a combined 175 rushing yards from its scoring duo. Bradbrooke carried 10 times for 72 yards and Lindsay 16 times for 103. On defence, free safety Liam Colbounre had five tackles and a pick while linebacker Jamie McColm had five tackles and a sack.
SPECTRUM 0 at W.J. MOUAT 37
ABBOTSFORD — After a frustrating 7-0 loss last week at Nanaimo District, the W.J. Mouat Hawks returned home looking to get their offence back on track.
And in what was a most efficient attack Friday, the Hawks did just that, improving to 3-1 following a shutout win over Victoria’s visiting Thunder (1-3).
“This was our most complete game of the season in all three phases,” admitted head coach Travis Bell. “Defensively, Ethan Erickson was an absolute stud out there for us. Offensively, I was really proud of the job of our quarterback. Tyran Duval’s decisions, and the plays he was able to make through the air and by using his feet… it all’s something we’ll need to do more and more of as teams try to take away our ground game.”
Nathan Hausermann only carried four times for 33 yards, but he rushed for two third-quarter scores.
Ebiye Okoko-Chomseng rushed five times for 35 yards and one TD, while also catching a 45-yard TD pass from Duval.
And Keenan Baker, while rushing three times for 40 yards, scored on a 25-yard touchdown rush.
Ethan Erickson, Zack Badke and Baker each had five tackles, with Erickson added three sacks, two knockdowns and a fumble recovery.
Spectrum was led by senior Bryden Holt’s 138 all-purpose yards, as well as his eight tackles on defence.
Grade 10 Jaxon Roorda played up with Spectrum varsity and had four catches for 63 yards, as well as five tackles and a sack.
DOUBLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
No. 2 BALLENAS 27 at No. 4 HOLY CROSS 0
SURREY — The pack from Parksville will head into this coming week’s annual Border Battle against Nanaimo’s No. 3-ranked John Barsby Bulldogs with a perfect record.
That’s becasue the No. -ranked Ballenas Whalers blanked the host and No. 4-ranked Holy Cross Crusaders on Friday afternoon.
A strip and subsequent recovery led to quarterback Ben Chomolok’s one-yard rushing score, and from there, the Whalers would add three more majors.
Running back Demar Hohnstein, who carried 15 times for 98 yards, scored off a five-yard run before Chomolok, who went 7-of-10 for 143 yards, threw his second strike of a day, this one a 16-yard fade to receiver Nathan Robinson.
The latter then turned pivot, connecting for the day’s longest scoring play, a 60-yard hook-up with running back Adrian Friesen.
“We were happy with the way things went,” said Ballenas coach Jeremy Conn. “We played it physical. And when Holy Cross did a good job stopping our run, we were able to change things up.”
The Crusaders (2-1, 0-1) won’t likely see a higher-ranked team in conference play this season, yet that was no consolation to Holy Cross head coach Conrad Deugau.
“A tough loss today,” said Deugau whose Crusaders play away from Surrey for the first time this season when they face North Vancouver’s Argyle Pipers next Friday. “They were more physical than us today. They executed more effectively than us. We turned the ball over three times. That certainly didn’t help. On to the next one.”
NON-CONFERENCE
No. 3 JOHN BARSBY 25 at ROBERT BATEMAN 9
ABBOTSFORD — John Barsby’s Bulldogs are usually very adept in forging an offensive identity based on their excellence via the ground or through the air.
And although finding that balance has happened in past seasons, the 2018 team is striking that pose with enough confidence that it’s hard to remember the last time the double-wing had this kind of equilibrium.
Quarterback Cam Wright went 22-of-29 for 273 yards and three touchdowns while the running game turned 23 carries into 189 yards and a score.
As well, the Barsby defense continued to create turnovers with two interceptions and six drive-killing sacks.
Linebackers Zach Taylor (11 tackles, three sacks) and Jacub Gilman (nine tackles, two sacks) set the tone.
The Wolves?
After falling behind 7-0, they got on a march of their own, but Logan McDonald’s TD pass was called back and Bateman settled for a field goal.
The Wolves trailed only 13-9 at the half, after McDonald connected with Markus Rauch.
“That was a great football atmosphere,” Barsby head coach Rob Stevenson said of Bateman’s game-day presentation. “They put a lot of effort into the game with student buy-out, outstanding drum corps and they were great hosts. Coaches and programs going the extra-mile to make games feel big time for the kids do a great service to the whole high school game, the players and spectators.”
SATURDAY
TRIPLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1:30 p.m. — Handsworth at Carson Graham, New Westminster at South Delta
DOUBLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1:30 p.m. — Argyle at Howe Sound
NORTHERN CONFERENCE
3 p.m. — Prince George at Nechako Valley
NON-CONFERENCE
5 p.m. — Clarence Fulton at Kelly Road
7:30 p.m. — Salmon Arm at College Heights
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