Vernon's Grade 12 defensive end Grayson Statham is the B.C. high school football AA Defensive MVP despite lacking the girth and overall size of most playing his position at the senior varsity level. (Image by Darren Hove property of photographer 2021. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football

Vernon’s Grayson Statham: A rush-end who tips scales at 160 pounds, Panthers’ B.C.’s AA Defensive MVP uses “…every ounce of what he has!”

It’s been a season of tumult in the B.C. high school football world.Yet despite the complexities of its final chapter being played out against the conditions of our ever-changing world, it still has the ability to lift and inspire us from its very grassroots level.When the B.C. High School AA Provincial All-Star team was released […]

B.C. high school football will continue with its Subway Bowl playoffs this weekend, yet teams will not compete for provincial titles this season after the flooding within our province made travel to games a big issue. (Wilson Wong photo property of Wilson Wong 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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No B.C. champions will be crowned at Subway Bowl 2021! State of emergency means high school football will stage three ‘regional’ championships!

(NOTE — Check back throughout the course of the evening for updates on this story)LANGLEY — For a second straight season, B.C. high school football teams have been denied the opportunity to compete for provincial championships.On the heels of the provincial state of emergency now in effect, B.C. School Sports, the governing body for high […]

Vernon Panthers' running back Joe Murphy attempts to break a tackle on Saturday in win over the Prince George Polars. Looking on are teammates Mats Friesen (70) and Roan Reid. (Photo by Darren Hove property of photographer 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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Key forced fumble turns the tide, Vernon regains momentum, tops Polars for Subway Bowl quarterfinals berth!

There was a moment on Saturday afternoon — midway through the third quarter — when the Vernon Panthers must have felt like their bid to qualify for the Subway Bowl quarterfinal round was destined to evaporate before their eyes.Yet as a Prince George Polars’ ball carrier scampered on a 50-yard run which had taken him […]

Vernon head coach Sean Smith has his AA team ranked No. 1 in Varsity Letters' Big 5 preseason coaches poll. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.com 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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Our countdown to kick-off begins! Varsity Letter’s Big 5 B.C. High School Football preseason AA rankings have arrived!

In anticipation of a return to play on the high school football fields this fall, we’ve returned with the first of Varsity’s Letter’s own back-to-back preseason B.C. Big 5 rankings.Today, we will start with the AA ranks, with the AAA to follow in the coming days.Three games are scheduled in the Week 0 window Sept. […]

UBC linebacker Ben Hladik doing what he does best against the Alberta Golden Bears. (Photo by Bob Frid property of UBC athletics 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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Big Ben’s time: UBC’s Ben Hladik, part of ‘Birds star-studded linebacker class, stops at nothing to impress pro football scouts!

Everything you may have already imagined about the voluminous work ethic of UBC Thunderbirds’ starting middle linebacker Ben Hladik is true.And in case you had any doubt, there’s nothing like a first-hand account from an otherwise non-descript day in the dead of winter, when no one was supposed to be watching, to stoke the fires […]

Unloading down the field, Vernon Panthers quarterback Zack Smith has been a true dual-threat pivot as a senior. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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Subway Bowl AA 2019 Preview: Langley coach Piche sees shades of ‘Le-Marvelous’ Durant in Vernon’s 2019 MVP quarterback Zack Smith

VANCOUVER — Ryk Piche was surprised at just how fast a decade could pass when, earlier this season, he got an invitation to the 10-year re-union celebration of the Centennial Centaurs team he helped coach to the 2009 Subway Bowl B.C. high school football Triple A championship title.For many including Piche, now the Langley Saints […]

Langley Saints offensive linemen Dayton Boytillier (left) and Dallas Pattenden congratulate running back Kai Thomas after one of his three rushing majors last Saturday in a Subway Bowl semifinal win over G.W. Graham. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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Subway Bowl AA Finals Preview: Can the Saints’ march be slowed? Vernon defence will have to be at its best to slow Langley run game

LANGLEY — It’s the kind of highlight that in a film-room session just seems to jump off the screen and get your heart pumping.Last Saturday, in its Subway Bowl B.C. Double A semifinal clash against Chilliwack’s G.W. Graham Grizzlies, Langley running back Kai Thomas took a hand-off, made the first wave of tacklers miss, then […]

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The Varsity Letters PODCAST 11.20.19 edition: Vernon football’s Sean Smith, UFV women’s hoop coach Al Tuchscherer & the LEC’s Gary Ahuja

LANGLEY — The Varsity Letters’ podcast is back, and ready to not only chat about football and basketball, but about the home for so many of our province’s top high school invitational and championship tournaments. First, in the spirit of this Saturday’s Subway Bowl Final Four weekend at B.C. Place Stadium, Vernon Panthers’ head coach […]

A bigger, strong, faster Liam Reid (52) is one reason the defending champion Vernon Panthers top the Varsity letters' B.C. Double A preseason football coaches poll. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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On the prowl again, defending champion Vernon Panthers hold AA No. 1 ranking as they take on tough encore assignment

Welcome to the fifth instalment of our five-team countdown to No. 1!Today, Varsity Letters presents our look at the No. 1 team in the preseason B.C. Double A coaches poll.Beginning Monday, we will start the countdown of the Top 5 Triple A football teams.VERNON — The 2018-19 B.C. high school sports season isn’t even 100 […]

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 […]