Vernon quarterback Zack Smith goes airborne in front of Langley's Ciaran Davies to score one of his three rushing TDs Saturday in the B.C. AA final at B.C. Place Stadium. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Football

Subway Bowl AA Final: Behind the magic of MVP quarterback Zack Smith, Vernon’s Panthers repeat in royal fashion

VANCOUVER — The No. 1-ranked, defending champion Vernon Panthers made their hold over the B.C. senior varsity Double-A football world dynastic-like on Saturday.Yet even behind a victory as comprehensive as its 43-14 Subway Bowl triumph over the No. 4 Langley Saints at B.C. Place Stadium, Panthers’ head coach Sean Smith admitted he was sweating the […]

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 […]

King George's Nikola Guzina is one of a gaggle of returning talents for the Vancouver team starting at No. 1 in the B.C. Double-A rankings. (Photo by Dan Kinvig property of University of the Fraser Valley athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Let the 75th season begin! B.C. Boys Big 10 preseason basketball rankings for all four provincial tiers

LANGLEY — Basketball is back!The B.C. senior boys basketball season will officially tip off this coming Monday, setting in motion a 75th anniversary season filled with ties to its glorious past.Look no further than our pre-season Quad-A rankings, populated by so many traditional powers.The Burnaby South Rebels, Vernon Panthers, Vancouver’s King George Dragons, and the […]

Feature Podcast

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 […]

Back in 2017, Vernon quarterback Zack Smith was named championship finals MVP after leading the Panthers to an historic B.C. title. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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BCSSFA’s Double-A B.C. all-stars: Vernon QB Zack Smith named MVP, tops list of 28 honoured selections

VANCOUVER — Zack Smith is still focussed on earning the right to play two more games in his high school football career before he’ll stop and look back on what has been a decorated run.In the meantime, however, the accolades continue to accumulate for the 5-foot-9, 160 pound senior quarterback of the Vernon Panthers.On Monday, […]

Vernon quarterback Zack Smith was masterful in leading the defending champion Panthers back to the Subway Bowl Final Four next weekend at B.C. Place. (File photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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FINAL NIGHT FINAL BCHS Football Report 11.15.19 edition: No. 1 Vernon, No. 2 Ballenas win to set up epic Subway Bowl Final Four clash of unbeatens

No. 1 vs. No. 2, both sitting with perfect 8-0 records, and set to meet in the Subway Bowl 2019 AA Final Four one week from Saturday at B.C. Place Stadium?That’s the plotline put into play Friday as the top-ranked, defending B.C. champion Vernon Panthers and Parksville’s No. 2-ranked Ballenas Whalers each came away with […]

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)
Feature High School Football

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's Isaiah Ondrik is one of five main-rotation regulars set to return for the preseason No. 1-ranked Panthers. (Photo by Wilson Wong 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

B.C. Boys AAA Basketball Top 10: Vernon’s huge core of rising seniors, steeled by tough B.C. final loss, set to open 2019-20 as clear No. 1

LANGLEY — If the Vernon Panthers ever find themselves in need of some offseason reaffirmation that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, they might want to talk to guys like Jadon Cohee, Brad Hoffman and Paul Getz.