New Westminster running back Lucas Sabau works behind his offensive line en route to a 187-yard rushing performance Friday as the No. 1 Hyacks won in North Vancouver over host Carson Graham. (Alan Wardle/New West Hyacks)
Feature High School Football

10.27.17: Varsity Letters’ B.C. High School Football Report, Friday Night Lights edition

Welcome to the Friday Night Lights edition of Varsity Letter’s B.C. High school Football Report. 

Can you believe it’s already the second-to-last weekend of the regular season?

Please keep refreshing us throughout the evening for the latest updated scores and game reports from around the province.

FRIDAY

AAA EASTERN CONFERENCE

LORD TWEEDSMUIR 17 at No. 4 TERRY FOX 0

COQUITLAM — It was a night for Surrey’s Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers when all of the parts came together to equal something truly great.

“This was a very satisfying win against a team we have never beaten before,” said LT co-head coach Kurt Thornton after the Panthers (6-2, 5-1) shutout the preseason No. 1 Ravens of Port Coquitllam (5-3, 4-2) and vaulted ahead of Fox into sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference.

“We got contributions in all three phases of the game and the coaching staff is proud of the team tonight. It was a great job by the Panthers.”

Indeed.

Starting on the defensive side of the ball Graeme Godard, Zach Davies, Griffin O’Connor and Cole Irwin each collected eight tackles while corners Dawson Marchant and Kojo Odoom stepped up with very solid performances in the pass game and against the run.

And speaking about that running game, Lord Tweedsmuir’s offensive line of Mike Hampton, Griffin O’Connor, Ryan Rapske, Cole Irwin and Adison Sadler continued to take pride in the monster season being enjoyed by running back Derek Best.

On Friday, Best carried 23 times for 181 yards. And although Braeden Hutchinson carried just once, it was for 37 yards and a touchdown.

Dawson Marchant scored just before half on a 30-yard pass from quarterback Walter Dingwall.

Yosef Drysdale had opened scoring with a 33-yard field goal.

W.J. MOUAT 0 at ST. THOMAS MORE 58

BURNABY — On their way to a perfect 6-0 league record and sole possession of first place in the East heading into next weekend’s regular-season finales, Burnaby’s Knights just seem to get the job done in a more decisive fashion each and every week.

Friday’s home win over Abbotsford’s Hawks began with a Michael Simon pick-six on Mouat’s first play from scrimmage.

The Knights were without star running back Tyler Eckert, who sat out the game with illness.

Nonetheless, they scored six touchdowns on just 16 offensive snaps and recorded their sixth shutout of the season.

David Osho scored on a 45-yard jet sweep, and also caught a pair of touchdown passes (26 and 75 yards from quarterback Dario Ciccone) as part of a three-catch, 121-yard evening.

Josh Wilson managed a 60-yard catch-and-run from Ciccone and a seven-yard rushing major.

Ciccone was 7-of-10 for 236 yards passing and also had a rushing touchdown from 18 yards out.

Daniel Auld’s 20-yard fumble recovery touchdown was part of a stellar defensive effort led by Jonah Fridfinnson’s eight tackles, and the five tackles and two sacks of Sam Steele.

“It was a strong performance that saw some key players step up in the absence of Eckert,” admitted Knights’ head coach Steve De Lazzari.

AAA WESTERN CONFERENCE

BELMONT 14 at  NOTRE DAME 39

BURNABY — The visiting Bulldogs (1-6, 1-5) showed themselves to be masters in the takeaway game in the opening half, but the host Jugglers (5-3, 3-3) never wavered from their mix of run and pass, rallying with a big second-half to win a key, late-season Western matchup.

“We were not at our best in the first half and many mistakes took us out of our game, especially in the second quarter,” said Kelly, whose team built a 12-0 lead on a pair of Brice Pumares rushing majors, but then handed the lead right back to the Bulldogs who took two interceptions to the house for a 14-12 lead.

Despite the setbacks, quarterback Will Clarke hung in, delivering a 25-yard touchdown pass to Pauljeet Dhami for an 18-14 halftime lead.

The second half was all Notre Dame.

Pumares, who scored on short first-half scampers of one and three yards, added another three-yard major for a 24-14 lead.

Clarke hit Dhami again, this time on a 10-yard strike, and then fullback Kareem Oborne scored on 25-yard run.

“We were pleased with the second-half response and we took control of the game once again,” added Kelly, whose team wraps up the regular season next week with the Archbishops Trophy game against Vancouver College.

Pumares carried 12 times for 125 yards and three majors, while Oborne rushed for 47 yards and a major.

Clarke went 15-of-28 for 151 yards, two TDs and two picks.

Oborne had 47 yards on four carries and one touchdown. Dhami had his best receiving game of the year as he caught eight passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

On defence, Oborne had eight tackles, Cameron Mah six tackles and Pumares seven tackles and a fumble recovery.

Safety Dylan Rachel had six tackles and a 25-yard return of an interception and also made three grabs for 45 yards.

No. 1 NEW WESTMINSTER 30 at CARSON GRAHAM 12

NORTH VANCOUVER — The New Westminster Hyacks (8-1, 6-0) did their part, now the South Delta Sun Devils have to do theirs.

The Hyacks jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead on their way to a decisive win over North Vancouver’s injury-plagued Eagles (3-6, 0-6), and if the No. 2 Sun Devils are able to beat the No. 5-ranked Seaquam Seahawks on Saturday, the regular season finale this coming Friday at Mercer Stadium would feature a No. 1 vs. No 2 matchup with the Western Conference title on the line.

“It wasn’t pretty but at this time of year you take the win and move on,” said head coach Farhan Lalji. “I was concerned that our kids might be looking ahead to next week and I think to a degree that happened. We were very sloppy. But you have to give Carson credit, they were banged up and played very hard.”

The Hyacks opened the scoring with a three-yard TD run by Michael Kingsley, then New West quarterback Kinsale Philip scored back-to-back touchdowns on runs of 11 and then 23 yards.

In the second half, Zach Northgraves made it 24-0 with a 36-yard field goal, and then Sebastien Reid rounded out the road team’s scoring with a 20-yard touchdown run.

The Eagles played without their explosive starting quarterback Charlie McMillan while the Hyacks were without Broxx Comia.

The Hyacks’ Lucas Sabau didn’t find the end zone but still rushed for 187 yards while Sammy Sidhu, the star running back, made 11 tackles in a defence-only performance.

“That Sammy Sidhu is the real deal,” said Carson Graham head coach Brian Brady, whose team was without its top two quarterbacks and had to learn a new offence this week.

Despite all of that, Eagles’ emergency pivot Zack McMinn went 5-of-6 for 101 yards, throwing a touchdown pass to Nick Rich. Liam Clarke carried 22 times for 123 yards in the loss.

Mahyar Hosseini ran for 50 yards and had eight tackles and Adam Larisch had nine tackles in the loss.

“For all intents and purposes, our season begins now,” said Lalji. “There’s a lot at stake next Friday night and then after that, it’s win or go home. I’m looking forward to seeing if we live up to our potential when the lights are the brightest.”

AAA PACIFIC CONFERENCE

RUTLAND 14 at NANAIMO DISTRICT 27

NANAIMO — The Bradbrooke brothers got the job done for the host Islanders (4-2, 2-1).

Linebacker Finn Bradbrooke had five tackles and an interception to help lead the defence, while quarterback Maren Bradbrooke rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns (10, 14, five yards) and also passed for 141 yards in a 27-14 win over the Rutland VooDoos (2-6, 0-3).

“We worked on our pass game a lot this week and I feel it paid off,” said Nanaimo District head coach Nate Stevevenson. “Maren had a good day of throwing the ball and receivers were able to come down with some solid catches. Our option game developed as the day went on.”

Zephyr Melnyk was also huge in the win, tallying five tackles and two sacks from his defensive end position, and also rushing for a one-yard touchdown.

“Defensively Rutland came at us hard,” added Stevenson. “We had troubles with their rush game but were able to slow it enough at times to give us a good down-and-distance set.”

Free safety Liam Colbourne also had five tackles in the win, while Anthony Comas caught five passes for 93 yards.

The Islanders led 20-0 at the half and 27-7 midway through the fourth quarter.

AA WESTERN CONFERENCE

HUGH BOYD 26 at ARGYLE 9

BURNABY — Austin Berry and Reace Mok each enjoyed career-type days Friday, combining to rush for 340 yards as Richmond’s Trojans (3-4, 2-2) rolled to a convincing win over North Vancouver’s Pipers (4-4, 2-2) at the Burnaby Lakes Sports Complex.

Quarterback Byron Ruvalcaba did open the festivities with a 40-yard touchdown pass to slotback Austin Galbraith.

But then Berry then added three touchdowns as part of 182-yard rushing performance, scoring from 18, 15 and 24 yards in the process.

Mok didn’t score a TD moved the chains, carrying 22 times for 158 yards.

“We’ve really improved our run game,” said Hugh Boyd head coach Bill Haddow. “Kudos to our linemen, and the coaches who have worked hard with this group. We figured it might take a little time with an inexperienced bunch, but it’s coming together nicely.”

Defensively, Boyd did a whole lot of bending but broke little. They helped their cause with three interceptions, including a momentum changer by linebacker Tomo Takeuchi (eight tackles) with the Trojans hanging on to a 13-9 lead.

“Huge play,” said Haddow. “It took the wind a bit out of their sails, and gave us a short field which we were able to capitalize on, and give us some breathing room.”

Linebacker Ryan Jensen, who had 12 tackles, also made a late interception which secured the win. A last-ditch throw was picked off by Shakur Lopez to end the game

Defensive end Dayton Williamson had eight tackles and his book-end counterpart John Whitlock another six.

“We’re happy with the effort,” said Haddow.  “And the discipline. We preached it all week after our mental meltdowns last week.”

Pipers’ quarterback Mac Ward went 23-of-33 for 269 yards with one touchdown and a pair of picks.

Devin O’Hea had eight catches for 67 yards, Declan Confortin five for 58 yards and Jacob Green seven tackles including a sack.

“Unfortunately we were hit hard before and during the game with the injury bug which hurt us,” said coach Wayne Theobald.” Missing to many key guys at key positions, we just weren’t able to overcome that.”

No. 1 WINDSOR 45 at No. 4 JOHN BARSBY 6

NANAIMO — If there was one thing the No. 1-ranked Dukes (6-0, 4-0) knew they needed to do, it was to up their level of grit to match that of the host, No. 4-ranked Bulldogs (6-1, 3-1).

Led by an offensive line of Mitch Townsend, Colby LaLonde, Christian Capuno, Samson Whitebear George, and Nathan Overguard that’s just what the North Vancouverites did with an impressive two-way display.

“Our team goal was to raise our level of physicality and mental focus which the entire team achieved,” said Dukes’ head coach Jim Schuman. “Barsby has a great program and they are well known for their physicality and intensity. Having experienced that the hard way in years past definitely inspired and motivated us to come ready to play.”

Ryan Baker again led the way on both fronts with 10 tackles, as well as 107 yards passing and 220 yards rushing.

Baker threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Julien Perri as the Dukes led 26-0 at the half. Ben McMichael rushed for three scores.

“Windsor was as advertised and then some,” said Barsby head coach Rob Stevenson whose team lost for the first time this season. “They outplayed us in every phase of the game except special teams. Physically and mentally they were dominant. What a fabulous football team and so very skilled. I have not seen an opponent execute their offense as good at any level in 22 years.”

Barsby’s lone score was a one yard run by tailback Dave Wicks in the third quarter.

AA EASTERN CONFERENCE

SAMUEL ROBERTSON 7 at No. 5 G.W. GRAHAM 46

CHILLIWACK — It’s hard to say it, but once again, it was another night at the office for G.W. Graham’s Von Richardson. Sort of.

The running back for the No. 5-ranked Grizzlies (6-1, 4-0) carried 25 times for 303 yards and seven touchdowns, the combination of yards and touchdowns scored surely among the most prodigious in B.C. high school history.

“Von has found the next gear this season  and he is turning it into a very memorable season,” said Grizzlies’ head coach Laurie Smith of the 1,400 yards and 21 majors.

The Grizzlies defense was very solid recording eight sacks and two interceptions. Jake Troyan and Cooper Middleton recorded a pair of sacks each and Jacob Penner and Dion Kelly had the interceptions.

Andrew Locke had five tackles and played well on special teams.

The Grizzlies earned a first-round bye with the win and will host a playoff game on November 17.

Next week, in a battle of Eastern unbeatens, they face No, 3 Abbotsford in the city’s football event of the year.

No. 3 ABBOTSFORD 42 at ROBERT BATEMAN 6

ABBOTSFORD — Ethan Anderson showcased Abby’s big-play capability through the air, and running back Samwel Uko kept doing what he does best, as the visiting Panthers (4-3, 4-0) won its crosstown derby with the Robert Bateman Timberwolves (1-7, 0-4).

Anderson threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Owen Parker to open the scoring, before a 50-yard completion to Anthony Phan set up a two-yard Uko rushing major.

Anderson capped the night with a six-yard strike to Phan.

Inbetween, Uko scored on rushes of 45 and 50 yards and finished with 205 yards along the ground.

“When we play Bateman it’s always a hard-hitting game and they battle right until the final whistle,” said Panthers head coach Jay Fujimura. “They came out of the gate flying and put everyone in the box. We spread them out with the pass to give some breathing room.”

Luke Szmutko added the Panthers’ remaining touchdown on a 60-yard run while Johnny Stevenson led the winning defence with nine tackles, including two sacks.

“Not a lot went our way today,” said Bateman head coach Davis Mills. “Abby has some really talented athletes and we knew our margin for error was very small if we were going to stay in this game. We blew our assignments on two big plays and that led two their first two touchdowns.

“As the game went on they went to their heavy set on offence and they were able to use their size-strength advantage to create lanes for Uko to run through.”

THURSDAY

AA NORTHERN CONFERENCE

KELLY ROAD 6 at PRINCE GEORGE 53

PRINCE GEORGE — Five interceptions including a pair of pick-six daggers, as well as six combined sacks told the story as first-place Polars (4-0) topped the crosstown rival Roadrunners (1-3) in the opening round of the conference playoffs.

Gage Bernard and Braden Reed each took picks to the house. Bernard and Noah Williams each finished with two interceptions.

Also fuelling the defence was a pass rush which saw Ben Reed tally a trio of QB pillages. Sasha Gajic had two sacks and Gavin Murray one among his team-leading six tackles.

On the offensive side of the ball, Noah Williams rushed for 49 yards and two majors, while Gage Bernard, Ben Reed, Braden Reed and Gage Ridland all rushed for a touchdown each.

The Polars will play in the conference finals on Nov. 5.

If you’re reading this story or viewing these photographs on any other website other than one belonging to a university athletic department, they have been taken without appropriate permission. In these challenging times, true journalism will survive only through your dedicated support and loyalty. VarsityLetters.ca and all of its exclusive content has been created to serve B.C.’s high school and university sports community with hard work, integrity and respect. Feel free to drop us a line any time at varsitylettersbc@gmail.com.

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