LANGLEY — Welcome to Week 7 of B.C. high school football’s nine-week regular season.
You do the math! We’re getting down to the nitty-gritty with terrific conference matchups gaining in importance each week.
Varsity Letters’ Weekend Survival Guide is once again up to the task. We’ve got a fresh new set of Big 5 rankings for both AAA and AA tiers, our picks for Top 5 games of the week as well as full upcoming schedules and the complete scoreboard picture from last week.
VARSITY LETTERS’ BIG 5 RANKINGS
TRIPLE A
1 Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers (Surrey) (5-1, 4-0) (LW-1)
LW — Def. Kelowna 21-20.
TW — Friday host Mt. Boucherie.
2 Terry Fox Ravens (Port Coquitlam) (6-1, 3-1) (2)
LW — Def. Mt. Boucherie 54-0.
TW — Friday at St. Thomas More.
3 Vancouver College Fighting Irish (7-0, 6-0) (3)
LW — Def. New Westminster 42-0.
TW — Friday at Lynden (Wash.).
4 St. Thomas More Knights (Burnaby) (5-1, 3-1) (4)
LW — Def. Abbotsford 21-14.
TW — Friday host Lord Tweedsmuir.
5 Notre Dame Jugglers (Vancouver) (5-1, 5-0) (5-tie)
LW — Def. Carson Graham 33-13.
TW — Friday host Handsworth.
HM Mt. Douglas Rams (Victoria) (4-2, 4-2) (HM)
LW — Def. Seaquam 34-7.
TW — Friday at Carson Graham.
HM New Westminster Hyacks (4-3, 3-2) (5-tie)
LW — Lost to Vancouver College 42-0.
TW — Do not play, Oct. 26 host Seaquam.
HM South Delta Sun Devils (2-3, 2-3) (HM)
LW — Def. Handsworth 33-0.
TW — Saturday host Seaquam.
HM Mission Roadrunners (3-3, 3-1) (HM)
LW — Def. Centennial 42-7.
TW — Saturday host Kelowna.
HM Abbotsford Panthers (2-4, 2-2)
LW — Lost 21-14 to St. Thomas More
TW — Friday at Centennial
DOUBLE A
1 Vernon Panthers (4-1, 1-0) (LW-1)
LW — Def. Valleyview 55-6.
TW — Friday at South Kamloops.
2 Ballenas Whalers (4-1, 0-1) (3)
LW — Did not play.
TW —Saturday host Windsor.
3 Holy Cross Crusaders (4-1, 2-1) (4)
LW — Def. John Barsby 21-6.
TW — Saturday host Howe Sound.
4 John Barsby Bulldogs (4-2, 2-1) (2)
LW — Lost 21-6 to Holy Cross.
TW — Friday host Argyle.
5 Langley Saints (3-1, 1-0) (5)
LW — Did not play.
TW — Friday host G.W. Graham.
HM Windsor Dukes (3-0, 2-0) (HM)
LW — Def. Howe Sound 42-6.
TW — Saturday at Ballenas.
HM Robert Bateman Timberwolves (3-2, 1-0) (NR)
LW — Def. G.W. Graham 28-27
TW — Do not play.
HM G.W. Graham Grizzlies (Chilliwack) (2-4, 0-1) (HM)
LW — Lost 28-27 to Robert Bateman.
TW — Friday at Langley.
HM Samuel Robertson Titans (2-2, 1-1) (5)
LW — Def Frank Hurt 15-0 (forfeit)
TW — Do not play. Oct. 26 at Robert Bateman.
TOP 5 GAMES TO WATCH
Here’s our take on the top five games to take in this weekend over Week 3 of the B.C. High School Football campaign.
1 AAA No. 2 Terry Fox at No. 4 St. Thomas More (Friday, 7:30 p.m.)
The skinny — The only B.C. losses on the docket of both of these stacked-and-loaded 3-1 teams have come against the same team — No. 1 Lord Tweedsmuir. And both have come over the past two weeks. STM lost by six and Terry Fox by 10. After tonight, STM has Kelowna and Mission to wind up the regular season while Fox has Abbotsford and Centennial. Over that same span, LT gets Mission and Abbotsford. You can do the simple math. Barring an upset, which is always a possibility, this one — to be played at Burnaby Lakes — is likely a battle for second place in the conference.
2 AAA Nanaimo District at Earl Marriott (Friday, 2 p.m.)
The skinny — Led by the explosive pivot Finn Bradbrooke, the visiting Islanders can move into a tie for a share of first place in the Pacific Conference with a win. Host Earl Marriott, bolstered by former Hugh Boyd quarterback Byron Ruvalcaba, however, are no slouches. The Surrey squad can create a three-way logjam at 4-2 with a win, that mark good for either second- or third-place in the standings with just two more weeks of regular-season play to follow.
3 AAA Kelowna at Mission (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
The skinny — Hands up if you saw this one coming. With a win, the host Roadrunners, the surprise of all AAA football this season, can go to 4-1 in the East with two more league games remaining. Yet to hang with the triumvirate of LT, STM and Terry Fox they will have to handle a visiting Owls team which last week, lost by a point to the No. 1 Panthers.
4 AA Windsor at No. 3 Ballenas (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
The skinny — It’s been impossible to rank a defending B.C. champion Windsor team which has played just three times in seven weeks and has not faced a ranked foe. Yet there is no questioning how good they are. The conference leaders put an undefeated mark of 2-0 in the West on the line against the No. 3-ranked, battle-tested Whalers in Parksville.
5 AA G.W. Graham at No. 5 Langley (Friday, 6 p.m.)
The skinny — This one is suddenly a huge clash. The Grizzlies lost by a point last week to Robert Bateman while the host Saints, playing their best football of the season, are coming off a bye week. On Monday the conference lost member school Frank Hurt for the remainder of the campaign due to low numbers and safety concerns.
THIS WEEK
THURSDAY
DOUBLE A
NORTHERN CONFERENCE
5 p.m. — Kelly Road at Prince George
FRIDAY
TRIPLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
12 p.m. — Mt. Douglas at Carson Graham
5 p.m. — Handsworth at Notre Dame
EASTERN CONFERENCE
2:30 p.m. — Mt. Boucherie at Lord Tweedsmuir
7 p.m. — Abbotsford at Centennial
7:30 p.m. — Terry Fox at St. Thomas More
PACIFIC CONFERENCE
2 p.m. — Nanaimo District at Earl Marriott, Spectrum at Eric Hamber
5 p.m. —Rutland at Sullivan Heights
7:30 p.m. — West Vancouver at Sardis
NON-CONFERENCE
7 p.m. — Vancouver College at Lynden (Wash.)
DOUBLE A
EASTERN CONFERENCE
4 p.m. — Argyle at John Barsby
6 p.m. — G.W. Graham at Langley
INTERIOR CONFERENCE
5 p.m. — Valleyview at Clarence Fulton
7 p.m. — Vernon at South Kamloops
NON-CONFERENCE
6 p.m. — Westsyde at Salmon Arm
SATURDAY
TRIPLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1 p.m. — Kelowna at Mission
1:30 p.m. — Seaquam at South Delta
DOUBLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1 p.m. — Windsor at Ballenas
1:30 p.m. — Howe Sound at Holy Cross
NORTHERN CONFERENCE
12:30 p.m. — College Heights at Nechako Valley
SCOREBOARD
LAST WEEK
FRIDAY
TRIPLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Mt. Douglas 34 Seaquam 7
Notre Dame 33 Carson Graham 13
South Delta 33 Handsworth 0
Vancouver College 42 New Westminster 0
EASTERN CONFERENCE
St. Thomas More 21 Abbotsford 14
Terry Fox 54 Mt. Boucherie 0
Lord Tweedsmuir 21 Kelowna 20
Mission 42 Centennial 7
PACIFIC CONFERENCE
W.J. Mouat 19 Rutland 12
Nanaimo District 42 Sardis 13
West Vancouver 34 Sullivan Heights 6
DOUBLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Windsor 42 Howe Sound 6
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Robert Bateman 28 G.W. Graham 27
INTERIOR CONFERENCE
Westsyde Clarence Fulton
Vernon 55 Valleyview 6
NORTHERN CONFERENCE
Kelly Road Nechako Valley
Prince George D.P Todd
NON-CONFERENCE
South Kamloops 12 Salmon Arm 0
SATURDAY
TRIPLE A
PACIFIC CONFERENCE
Earl Marriott 42 Eric Hamber 0
DOUBLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Holy Cross 21 John Barsby 6
