Ballenas tacklers including (left to right) Adrian Friesen, Gage Geiger and Demar Hohnstein all return to the senior ranks of Parksville's Ballenas Whalers this season. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All rights reserved.)
Feature High School Football

After plenty of heartbreak the hard way, Ballenas’ No. 4-ranked AA Whalers ready to make some waves

On Thursday, we introduced Abbotsford’s Robert Bateman Timberwolves as the No. 5 team as we opened our annual pre-season countdown of 2019’s top B.C. Double A high school football teams. Today, we swing over to Vancouver Island for No. 4. The countdown resumes Monday, and will be followed by our B.C. Triple A Big 5.

Robert Bateman's rising senior linebacker/fullback Jack Weinkauf (right) celebrates with SFU-bound teammate Sam Davenport during the Wolves' decisive Subway Bowl AA semifinal win over Holy Cross last November at B.C. Place. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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Robert Bateman looks to its rising senior Phoenix! Wolves come in at AA No. 5 as countdown to B.C. high school football 2019 begins

High school football season may still be over three months away. Yet how far can it really be when Varsity Letters starts its annual countdown of B.C.’s best teams?

Former Holy Cross star basketball player Jonathan Kongbo gave football a late try, and now goes from the Tennessee Volunteers to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. (Photo by Andrew Ferguson property of Tennessee athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football University Football

Eight B.C. high school football alums picked in 2019 CFL Draft! Coaches agree player development is on the rise

LANGLEY — B.C. high school football’s best night ever at the CFL draft? No one can be sure, yet what is certain is that the eight players chosen from some of this province’s top programs is the most in over a decade.

On Thursday, Michael O'Connor found out his CFL home will be in Toronto. On Friday, he goes to NFL rookie mini-camp with the Seattle Seahawks. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics)
Feature University Football

Michael O’Connor: UBC’s humble superstar pivot finds a CFL home with Argos, takes to field with NFL’s Seattle Seahawks on Friday

VANCOUVER — Michael O’Connor wasn’t afraid of taking a road less traveled to achieve his dream of becoming a professional quarterback, and now more than ever, you can see the purpose in his steps.

Vernon's Liam Reid (right) guards Lord Tweedsmuir's Jackson Corneil during B.C. JV quarterfinal OT classic last season at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball High School Football

Vernon’s ‘Cats in the Cradle’ growing up fast! Young, talented Panthers take No. 2 rank into Bateman’s T-Wolves Classic

ABBOTSFORD — It’s happened precisely twice. That’s how many times over the first 73 years in which the B.C. senior boys basketball championships have been staged that a school won both senior varsity football and basketball championships in the same academic year.

As the final seconds of the 2018 B.C. high school football season tick down, Mt. Douglas Rams quarterback and game MVP Gideone Kremler shares a hug with teammate Peter Primeau. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
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FINAL EDITION Super Saturday 12.01.18: Full reports on all five Subway Bowl B.C. championship finals

We’ve gone final on the 2018 B.C. high school football season. New champions were crowned on Subway Saturday at B.C. Place. Here’s game reports for all five!

G.W. Graham's Grade 10 star receiver Logan Buchwitz will play for a Subway Bowl JV AA title Saturday at B.C. Place Stadium. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
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Logan Buchwitz: G.W. Graham Grizzlies receiver still growing, but his touchdown tales already huge heading into Subway Bowl AA JV final

CHILLIWACK — Logan Buchwitz is still so young that when he kept hearing people ask a few seasons back if Chase Claypool was someone he hoped to someday model his game after, he admits he had to do a search on the former Abbotsford Panther who is currently a star receiver with the Notre Dame […]

Football brothers with arms, New Westminster's Kinsale Philip (left) and Mt. Douglas' Gideone Kremler have been intense rivals throughout high school, but they are also great friends off the field. (Photos by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
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Subway Bowl’s quarterback brotherhood: Rams’ Kremler, Hyacks’ Philip share friendship, respect on and off the field

VANCOUVER — A learned football sage pointed out earlier this week that a unique B.C. high school football era will be coming to an end Saturday at B.C. Place Stadium when the Mt. Douglas Rams and the New Westmintser Hyacks meet at 7 p.m. to decide the 2018 Subway Bowl B.C. Triple A champion.

Vernon quarterback Thomas Hyett (right, 3) commands the huddle like the veteran he is after making a positional switch in 10th grade for the good of the team. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football University Football

The Ben Hladik Effect: Bar of excellence set by UBC’s brilliant linebacker resonates as Vernon Panthers return to Subway Bowl final

Two seasons after he left on a journey to become one of the elite defensive players in all of Canadian university football, his lasting impact continues to reverberate through the football program Vernon Secondary. So much so that the best way to describe its impact on his high school alma mater is to simply call it […]

From his exploits in leading his school's rugby teams to back-to-back provincial championship games, to now doing the same on the football field, Robert Bateman's Sam Davenport has been responsible for some master's brushstrokes the past three seasons. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
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A special pack of Wolves! Bateman’s multi-sport stars broaden championship experience with AA Subway Bowl finals berth

ABBOTSFORD — One of the most under-appreciated moments of recent vintage in the B.C. high school sports world came during the junior varsity portion of the 2017 B.C. boys rugby championships.