Welcome to Saturday night and our week-ending edition of Varsity Letters’ B.C. High School Football Report.
We’ve got coverage of Saturday’s two AAA games as well as a late filing from Friday.
MT. DOUGLAS 18 at No. 2 SOUTH DELTA 36
TSAWWASSEN — October’s arrival means a dip in the mercury, and with the colder weather comes an emphasis on the grittier aspects of the game.
OK, it wasn’t exactly frigid weather Saturday afternoon in Tsawwassen, yet the No. 2-ranked South Delta Sun Devils were content to play it blue collar, especially around the goal line.
On a team known for its deadly passing attack, Grade 11 running back Andrew Kraft was a red-zone terror, scoring his team’s first three touchdowns in a 36-18 win over Victoria’s visiting Mt. Douglas Rams.
The win allows South Delta to keep pace with No. 1 New Westminster, both teams boasting 3-1 Western Conference records. The two team are slated to meet in the regular-season finale for both teams Nov. 3 at New Westminster’s Mercer Stadium.
Kraft opened the scoring in the first quarter, catching a four-yard touchdown pass from Michael Calvert, then rushed for majors of four and 11 yards, the latter putting his team ahead 23-6 at the half.
“He has the hard-running style you love, and the never-say-die attitude,” chimed Sun Devils’ head coach Ray Moon of his 6-foot 195-pound bruiser. “On one of his touchdowns, five players had their hands on him but he was still able to drive through for the score.
“He’s a got a great attitude, he is so easy to coach. I wish I had a dozen more Andrew Krafts.”
His numbers were modest: Six carries for 25 yards and six catches for 24 yards. But it was the toughness he showed in the greasy areas that set the tone for the Sun Devils’ day.
Calvert threw touchdown strikes of 20 and 42 yards to receiver Doug Jamison in the third and fourth quarters respectively to hold back a Mt. Douglas team which is starting to find its stride behind starting quarterback Gideone Kremler who is returning from injury.
Kremler went 21-of-37 for 242 yards and one touchdown.
The Rams pulled to within 8-6 in the opening quarter when defensive linemen Aiden Bertuzzi and then Jake Ounsted conspired to sack Calvert, resulting in a loose ball which Ben Pierik recovered to score a major.
Sebastien Hansen scored on a five-yard run to make it 23-12 to open the third quarter, and in the fourth, Kremler threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Dante Carbone.
“South Delta earned full credit for their victory,” said Rams head coach Mark Townsend. “They are an extremely well-coached team and their key players made big plays in the game.”
One player who made plenty of key plays for his team was Zairech Kremler, who not only led the Rams with 11 tackles but also led the offence with 107 rushing yards on 17 carries and five catches for 47 yards.
Ounsted was a force inside with three tackles including two sacks. Hayden Naylor and Sam Mosky had four tackles each.
Mt. Douglas enjoyed first-and-goal at the South Delta two-yard line as the game wound down, but they were unable to punch it home in four tries.
CENTENNIAL 20 at KELOWNA 52
KELOWNA — Blaise Beauchemin rushed for 204 yards and four touchdowns as the hometown Owls (1-3 conference) made a big statement about just who they are as a football team in a decisive win over Coquitlam’s Centaurs (0-4).
“This was a big win for us,” said Owls head coach Chris Cartwright. “All year we have talked about the process to solidify our identity and culture and today was a product of that. It has been a process and learning experience for our program and today we saw the effort and execution that was needed to have success. We as a coaching staff are really proud of how the players approached this game today.”
Kyle Zakala also hauled in a 65-yard touchdown reception while Max Sprenger added another major off a kick-off.
“Defensively we played solid which gave our offence the opportunity to make big plays,’ added Cartwright. “This was an all-round big team win and helps move our program forward in a lot of different ways on and off the field. We hope that we take this success and use it to build momentum for the rest of the season.”
FRIDAY
AAA EASTERN CONFERENCE
MISSION 21 at W.J. MOUAT 10
ABBOTSFORD — On Friday, heading into the late stages of the fourth quarter, Hamen Gill had but two pass completions.
Turns out it was no indication as to the danger of his passing arm.
Gill went 40 yards to Jayden Watrin, 41 yards to Tyson Bongo and then 25 yards for a touchdown to Shawn Mann as the Roadrunners (2-2) evened their Eastern Conference mark against the host Hawks (1-3).
“We had this game circled on our calendar right at the beginning of the year,” said Mission head coach Danny Jakobs. “We are two teams that are pretty evenly matched and we managed to come up with some big plays.”
The Mission defence was at times dominant, holding Mouat running back Nathan Hausermann to 69 yards on 16 carries.
Eli Young had seven tackles and Robert Moore six for the winners.
“Hats off to Mouat,” said Jakobs who is attempting to transition the Roadrunners from one of B.C.’s top AA programs to the AAA ranks. “They did not quit and constantly put pressure on our quarterback. We have taken a huge step towards our team goal of making the play-offs but it certainly does not get any easier next week against Terry Fox.”
The Hawks pulled to within 14-10 on the first drive of the second half on a sneak by quarterback Ezra Garcia. Earlier, Arman Dhaliwal had kicked a 35-yard field goal.
Ethan Erickson had two sacks and recovered a fumble while Bogdan Uzbekov had a team-leading six tackles.
“Tonight was a night of missed opportunities,” said Mouat head coach Travis Bell. “We were very careless with the football in the first half and did not capitalize on opportunities to get good drives going, while Mission was able to convert on some key fourth-and-long situations that extended drives that led to touchdowns.
“That being said, I am proud of the battle of our guys. Effort was never in question. They gave it their all. We dust ourselves off over the weekend, and hope for a good week of practice in preparation for a road trip to Kelowna next Friday.”
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