Feature Podcast

Varsity Letters PODCAST 10.23.19: We’re joined by SFU football’s Thomas Ford, W.J. Mouat football’s Andrew Harder & TWU rugby’s Andrew Evans

LANGLEY — Varsity Letters — The Podcast is back from its one-week sabbatical! Thanks for joining us and thanks for your continued loyalty to Canada’s only podcast dedicated solely to the coverage of provincial high school and university sports. Off the top, Simon Fraser Clan head football coach Thomas Ford checks in to chat with […]

Simon Fraser's Farnaaz Johal has emerged as one of the rising young stars on a Clan volleyball team riding a five-game GNAC win streak into a four-game homestead beginning Thursday atop Burnaby Mountain. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Simon Fraser Clan athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Women's Volleyball

Clan ‘creating their own luck’ as preparation, opportunity meet to give SFU volleyball chance to set new program GNAC win streak on ‘Dig Pink’ night

BURNABY — You’ve no doubt heard about the concoction produced from that time-tested recipe, the one where preparation meets opportunity?Simon Fraser head volleyball coach Gina Schmidt isn’t denying the existence of old-fashioned good luck at various points of the five-match win streak her Clan (7-3) carry into the start of a four-game Great Northwest Athletic […]

SFU rookie quarterback Brandon Niksich was near perfect through the air as he engineered three second-half scoring drives to lead the Clan past host Azusa Pacific on Saturday in California. (Photo property of Crossview Studios through the permission of Azusa Pacific Athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

A Sunday Read: How Simon Fraser football snapped its 48-game losing streak! “It’s just the beginning for us” says Clan coach Ford

Sooner rather than later, Thomas Ford wants nights like Saturday to be business as usual.But he knew just as well as anyone who has held an emotional stake in Simon Fraser football over the past five-plus seasons that Canada’s NCAA team was smack dab in the middle of very a special moment.“Oh, man it was […]

A sack artist at work, St. Thomas More's Kaishaun Carter finds his way through the Kelowna Owls last Friday at Burnaby Lake. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football

Kaishaun Carter: “…I pride myself on my football IQ” says St. Thomas More’s senior blue-chip defensive end

BURNABY — Last month, as the St. Thomas More Knights set off to Mission for what would eventually be a hard-fought 18-6 win over the host Roadrunners, STM head coach Steve De Lazzari sent a text to his defensive coordinator Jared Power about one of the team’s influential seniors.“Coach Power was going to be away […]

Feature Podcast

Varsity Letters PODCAST 10.09.19: SFU basketball’s Steve Hanson, Tweedsmuir football’s Kurt Thornton and Centennial basketball’s Rob Sollero

Thanks for joining us for another episode of Varsity Letters — The Podcast! Basketball season is just around the corner and with it, the start of another season of the NCAA variety atop Burnaby Mountain. Simon Fraser Clan head coach Steve Hanson has orchestrated one of the biggest turnarounds in college basketball over the past […]

The Simon Fraser Clan offensive line got attacked along its youthful edges Saturday in a GNAC loss at league-leading Western Oregon. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Simon Fraser Clan athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Simon Fraser football: WOU’s pass-rushing Wolves bring pressure galore as QB Niksich and Clan fall to GNAC leaders

Despite all of the growing pains which have been part and parcel of the first half of their Great Northwest Athletic Conference season, Simon Fraser Clan freshman quarterback Brandon Niksich still managed to find a way to pass for more yards than any pivot in the conference.On Saturday afternoon in Monmouth, Ore., however, things felt […]

Simon Fraser quarterback Brandon Niksich has shown a great touch on his deep ball, Now he's working on cutting back on his interceptions. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Simon Fraser Clan athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Simon Fraser’s Brandon Niksich: Clan’s rookie QB, growing up quickly in the huddle, says “…I can’t be a freshman anymore”

BURNABY — Brandon Niksich signed up for a football adventure when he answered the recruiting call of the Simon Fraser Clan this past off-season.

On Clan football's annual team photo day, junior linebacker Griffin Barrett so perfectly symbolized his persona by holding a shovel on his shoulders. (Photo by Kendra Ho property of Simon Fraser athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

SFU’s Griffin Barrett: Why carrying a shovel on his shoulders is so meaningful for the Clan junior linebacker and GNAC tackling leader

BURNABY — Griffin Barrett couldn’t help but smile his best smile earlier this season, when on the Simon Fraser Clan football team’s picture day, he was handed what can only be described as the perfect prop just before taking his place in front of the camera and those flashing studio lights.Yup, you’re looking at it. […]

The SFU defence, led by the likes of defensive back Matt Duda (left) mades things tough for South Dakota Mines' receiver Anthony Ullrich on Saturday at Swangard. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Simon Fraser Clan athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Football growing pains! Two pick-six majors against, two disallowed TDs are Clan’s undoing in home-opening loss to SD Hardrockers

BURNABY — The Simon Fraser Clan may be young, but they are starting to show enough signs of forward progress that head coach Thomas Ford, after the team’s 2019 home opener, refused to use their overall inexperience as a crutch.That was the story as the Clan (0-3) allowed the offence of the visiting South Dakota […]