Towering above the competition, Centennial Centaurs' centre K.C. Ibekwe skies for a rebound this past December during the Tsumura Basketball Invitational at the Langley Events Centre. Over 20 universities and colleges have shown interest in the Coquitlam native. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

A Sunday Read: The amazing rise of Centennial’s K.C. Ibekwe, and how the Centaurs’ centre became the King of the City!

COQUITLAM — Ask K.C. Ibekwe about the origins of his abbreviated first name, and the Centennial Centaurs’ towering senior centre tells a story every bit as big as his 6-foot-10, 275 pound frame.“My parents have said to me that K.C. is for King of the City,” begins Ibekwe, the son of Nigerian immigrants who was […]

G.W. Graham running back Sam Mannes sets up his team's final score of the night with a big run, giving Centennial's Ziad Sabry a late straight arm before being taken down near the goal line. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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Subway AAA Coastal Semifinals: Triple-A rookies keep “making history” as G.W. Graham’s Grizz blank Centennial 19-0 to earn championship berth under the dome!

VANCOUVER — It’s not the easiest club to gain membership in, yet Chilliwack’s G.W. Graham Grizzlies just keep playing football like they’re charter members of the B.C. Triple-A’s old-guard elite.In just its first year at the province’s largest tier, the Grizzlies brought a game plan and a purpose to B.C. Place Stadium on Saturday as […]

Heritage Woods Kodiaks' Andrew Alvarez gives chase to Sean Cyr of the Sentinel Spartans during group play Thursday, Day 1 at the B.C. senior boys Coastal AAA championships at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex. Sentinel won 1-0 as all four teams in Pool A finished play for the day at 1-1. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Soccer

B.C. boys Coastal AAA soccer Day 1: Riverside, Best, Argyle take big steps forward in group play, but Centaurs, Thunder, Spartans, Kodiaks locked in four-way tie!

BURNABY — The beauty of group play at the 16-team B.C. senior boys AAA high school Coastal soccer championships is that Thursday parity invites a Friday filled with uncertainty.And nowhere was that better exemplified on opening day at the Burnaby Lake Sports Complex than in Pool A, one of the tournament’s four four-team groups, each […]

Centennial head coach Dino Geremia chats with his team, including right guard Cam Keeskotagan (52). (Photo by Wilson Wong. All Rights Reserved 2021)
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Where’d they come from? After three straight winless league seasons, Centennial Centaurs loving late-November Subway Bowl football!

COQUITLAM — If there was an award for Most Improved Team in B.C. high school football each season, 2021’s would belong to the Centennial Centaurs.After all, when you’re coming out of the cancelled 2020 season following three straight 0-7 conference campaigns, advancing to the final eight with the chance to play a meaningful football game […]

Carson Graham senior quarterback Logan Mellish engineered the winning drive on Friday as Carson Graham edged West Vancouver. (Photo by Blair Shier property of Blair.photo 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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FINAL: Varsity Letters’ 10.08.21 B.C. High School Football Report, Friday Night Lights LATE-NITE edition!

LANGLEY — Welcome to another addition of the 2021 Varsity Letters B.C. High School Football Report for the Thanksgiving Day long weekend.Keep checking back on this post throughout the evening as we continue to update games from around the province and remember that the records you see for all of the teams is their conference […]

Centennial Centaurs' Ziad Sabry has put almost two full seasons of disappointment behind him with a blistering breakout game last week against Abbotsford. (Photo by Hasti Mohammadi property of Centennial Athletics 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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Varsity Letters’ BCSSFA Player of the Week: For Centennial Centaurs’ running back Ziad Sabry, there is sweet joy in a comeback two years in the making!

COQUITLAM — When Ziad Sabry runs onto the field at Chilliwack’s Exhibition Stadium this Friday for a tough AAA East clash against the host G.W. Graham Grizzlies, he’ll no doubt smile to himself, so glad that two years ago, he decided to take endure the path less taken.Last week, in fact, almost two full years […]

Notre Dame Jugglers' Grade 11 defensive lineman Josh Burchak times his rush and his leap, attempting to disrupt the passing rhythm of Kelowna Owls' senior quarterback Joey Howorko on Friday during AAA non-conference clash played in a torrential downpour at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex on Friday afternoon. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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FINAL: The 09.17.21 B.C. High School Football report Friday Night Lights late-night edition: The football gods bring rain and an ensuing fest of good, old fumble-rooski!!

Welcome to a late version of the early edition of the B.C. high school football report.It was a day for rubber footballs and fumbled snaps, and for foolish reporters stuck over two hours in traffic on Hyw 1 East attempting a quick half-time exit after taking some photos for this posting at the Notre Dame-Kelowna […]

Despite the team's early-season carousel at quarterback, Carson Graham is 1-1 following a gutsy second-half performance by senior pivot Logan Mellish, a fact that has Eagles' head coach Brian Brady beaming with pride. Carson Graham topped Hansdsworth in the annual Buchan Bowl game Friday morning. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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FINAL EDITION: 09.10.21 Varsity Letters’ B.C. High School Football report: Friday Night Lights late-night edition!

Welcome to Week 1 of Varsity Letters’ B.C. High School Football ReportAs this is the first time we’ve posted with a full schedule of games since late in 2019, remember that in order to read about all of the contests played in our Friday Night Lights editions, you’ve got to keep checking back throughout the […]

The names have changed, but after a cancelled season, Coquitlam's Dr. Charles Best Blue Devils will open the 2021 campaign with the No. 1 ranking at AAA. (File photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Soccer

B.C. boys AAA soccer preseason rankings 2021: Dr. Best’s Blue Devils and Centennial Centaurs push Coquitlam to the front of the pack!

LANGLEY — Classes may not yet be in session, but the upcoming B.C. senior boys high school soccer season is top of mind for those anticipating its return to play in the fall of 2021.As the calendar hits Sept. 1, Varsity Letters presents the B.C. Boys AAA preseason soccer rankings, courtesy of B.C. boys high […]

In 1972, Steve Pettifer worked out in the Langara Gym for an audience which included then-national team head coach Jack Donohue. (Photo courtesy Steve Pettifer)
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VL Podcast 03.03.21: Centennial’s Steve Pettifer reflects on playing days at SFU and UBC, and a 40-year high school coaching career!

Welcome to the Varsity Letters podcast. There is no better time than this week, one traditionally reserved for the B.C. senior girls basketball championships, to catch up with former Centennial head coach Steve Pettifer, who in the last 1980s, led the Centaurs to five straight provincial Final Fours, including a pair of titles. Pettifer, brought […]