The Kelowna Owls, including Anya Pemberton (16) and Sophie LaChapelle (7) defeated North Vancouver's Handsworth Royals in the championship final of the UBC Mizuno invitational held last week on the Point Grey campus in Vancouver. (Photo by Wilson Wong property of UBC athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Volleyball

B.C. Girls High School Volleyball: Quad-A champion Kelowna Owls pick up where they left off, capturing UBC Mizuno Invitational title

VANCOUVER — Even though they are the defending B.C. champions at the province’s highest tier and expected to open at No. 1 atop the first Quad-A Top 10 poll of the season, the Kelowna Owls senior girls volleyball team has still got its own script to write this season.“Our prime objective last weekend was to […]

Head coach Todd Bernett and the Vancouver College Fighting Irish remain atop the Varsity Letters' Big 5 Triple A rankings heading into their Saturday clash at No. 5 South Delta. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football

Varsity Letter’s 09.09.19 Big 5 B.C. high school football rankings: VC and Vernon hold top spots

Welcome to Week 3 of the 2019 B.C. high school football season.The latest rankings:TRIPLE A1 Vancouver College Fighting Irish (2-0, 0-0) (LW-1)LW — Def. St. Thomas More by forfeit.TW — Saturday at South Delta.2 Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers (Surrey) (1-0, 0-0) (2)LW — Won 21-0 at Blaine (Wash.).TW — Friday at Terry Fox (Percy Perry Stadium). 3 […]

It was a tough 2019 season home opener for head coach Navin Chand and the Seaquam Seahawks. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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FINAL EDITION: Varsity Letters’ Super Saturday 09.14.19 B.C. High School Football Report!

Welcome to Varsity Letters’ Saturday edition of the B.C. High School Football Report. We’ve got reports from Saturday’s four games, as well as additional information from Friday’s Vancouver College-St. Thomas More game.SATURDAY12 p.m. — SOUTH DELTA 27 at SEAQUAM 0NORTH DELTA — Ben McDonald has been every bit the maestro in leading the Sun Devils […]

UBC running back Sharique Khan gets a test of his equilibrium courtesy of the Calgary defence on Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium. (Photo by Chuck Russell property of UBC athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Football gods frown on UBC: Dinos drub winless ‘Birds as 2019 Homecoming game goes awry in second half

VANCOUVER — In the Canada West football world, there is only one magic pill… one way to turn a down-trodden season around in one afternoon.Beat the Calgary Dinos.For most of the first half Saturday, the UBC Thunderbirds (0-3) looked like they had Houdini on their side.A blocked punt and ensuing touchdown by the UBC special […]

Handsworth quarterback Brett Birch-Jones hands off to star running back Robert Lutman on Friday, as the Royals came away convincing winners over the Windsor Dukes. (Photo by Blair Shier property of Blair.photo 2019. All Rights Reserved) (Photo by Blair Shier property of Blair.photo 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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FINAL EDITION: Varsity Letters’ 09.13.19 B.C. High School Football Report has the lowdown from every Friday senior varsity game!

Welcome to Week 2 of Varsity Letter’s B.C.High School Football Report.Please keep checking back on this posting over the course of the evening for all the reports from a busy schedule of games under Friday Night Lights.SCOREBOARDNON-CONFERENCEFRIDAYMT. DOUGLAS 20 at NANAIMO DISTRICT 0NANAIMO — The Mt. Douglas Rams lowered their pads and rushed to victory […]

UBC Thunderbirds' head men's rugby coach Curry Hitchborn sees the immense value attached to his team's participation in the 2019 World University Rugby Invitational in Japan next week. (Photo by Ben Nelms provided courtesy of UBC athletics 2019. All rights reserved)
Feature High School Rugby University rugby

A Rugby World Cup of their own! UBC Thunderbirds travel to Japan for eight-nation World University men’s championship

VANCOUVER — Canada opens play in Japan at the 2019 World Cup of Rugby on Sept. 26.And while the UBC Thunderbirds men’s team won’t be able to attend any of their home nation’s matches, they’ll be returning from the Land of the Rising Sun with some world-class rugby memories of their own.That’s because the ‘Birds […]

UBC's second-year receiver Jacob Patten has been one of the bright spots over an 0-2 start to the Thunderbirds' 2019 Canada West season. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Patten pending: ‘The Catch’ might be his trademark, but there’s so much more to UBC wide receiver Jacob Patten

VANCOUVER — Precious little has gone right for the struggling and winless UBC Thunderbirds over the first two games of the Canada West season.Yet in a figurative sense, as UBC (0-2) gets set to welcome its undefeated, conference-leading nemesis, the Calgary Dinos (2-0), for Saturday’s crucial Homecoming Game (3 p.m., Canada West TV) at Thunderbird […]

In their glory, Abbotsford Panthers ' team captains (left to right) Ken McIntee, Paul Gill, Lance McDonald and Lance Iten hoist the spoils of victory on a chilly night at old Empire Stadium back in 1984. (Photo provided through the permission of Paul Gill)
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Abby’s original football heroes: Some 35 years later, Panthers celebrate their biggest victory with a B.C. title rematch against Notre Dame

ABBOTSFORD — Paul Gill has never forgotten the feeling he got from winning his final high school football game.Now, 35 years later, the Abbotsford Panthers’ 14-4 victory over the Notre Dame Jugglers in the 1984 B.C. championship game is being recognized for the pioneering bar it set in the city you might just call the […]

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PODCAST — The VL Pod is back, celebrating a big anniversary for Abby Panthers football, and a new cross-country season for the SFU Clan

Varsity Letters — The Podcast is back with episode No. 2 in our re-launch. This week, we open our show with a high school football theme, celebrating Saturday’s 35th anniversary of the Abbotsford Panthers’ 1984 B.C. championship win over the Notre Dame Jugglers. Paul Gill, Denis Kelly and Jalem Catlin are all a part of […]

SFU starting quarterback Justin Seiber will not play Saturday at Angelo State. The team is hoping his ankle injury won't end his 2019 campaign after just one game. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Simon Fraser Clan athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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Football Clan will huddle Saturday in Texas without QB-1 Seiber, reserves at the ready as SFU awaits further test on pivot’s injured ankle

BURNABY — The Simon Fraser Clan football team will play this weekend in Texas without its regular starting field general in the huddle.Clan head coach Thomas Ford confirmed Wednesday morning that sophomore quarterback Justin Seiber would not play in the team’s Saturday clash in San Angelo, TX (4 p.m.) against the Angelo State Rams of […]