Welcome to the Friday Night Lights Early edition of Varsity Letter’s B.C. High School Football Report.
Please continue to check in with us throughout the course of the evening as we update this posting results from around the province.
AAA WEST
SEAQUAM 0 at No. 4 NOTRE DAME 42
BURNABY — For the third consecutive game, the Notre Dame Jugglers recorded a shutout, this time in a league contest at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex against North Delta’s Seaquam Seahawks.
The Jugglers’ swarming defense was led by linebacker Aiden Thomas who was all over the field and recorded one of three interceptions that the Jugglers managed on the evening. Other interceptions were made by linebacker Isaiah Picariello, who took home a 45-yard pick-six in the third quarter, and corner Antonio Conte, who returned the ball from midfield to the Seaquam five-yard line.
“This was a good, solid team effort and was an excellent way to begin league play,” said Notre Dame head coach Denis Kelly.
“Again, our defense led by coach (Jordan) Liberman was outstanding,” Kelly continued. “We constantly applied pressure on the Seaquam offence. The young Seahawks were scrappy competitors and should improve as the season goes on.”
Notre Dame opened the scoring with an eight-yard run by quarterback Aiden Domino at 9:40 of the first quarter. Noah Banco was good on his first of six consecutive extra points to make it 7-0.
The Jugglers added another major before the quarter was up, this time a 25-yard catch-and-run from Domino to wide receiver Conte.
In the second quarter, Conte made another great play, hauling in a Domino seam pass and scoring from 35 yards out at 9:51 of the quarter. Thomas’ interception then led to an immediate 50-yard Domino scoring run as the Jugglers blew the game open. The halftime score was 28-0.
In the third quarter, tailback Pedro Cabanas scored on a 25-yard run at the 3:53 mark.
Picariello’s pick-six completed the scoring at 2:16 of the third.
The Jugglers get back top play next Friday (7:30 p.m.) against St. Thomas More at Burnaby Lake.
SOUTH DELTA 14 at No. 2 MT. DOUGLAS 34
VICTORIA — Ray Moon has seen it all over a long career coaching in the B.C. high school ranks.
And while there was never any doubting the intestinal fortitude of his players, there was also a realization that on Friday. the host Mt. Douglas Rams were taking old school to a new level.
“It was like David and Goliath,” Moon said after the Rams lived up to their name, rushing for 423 yards on the evening. “They kept pounding away at our squad. In the second half our players gave it a valiant effort but we started running out of gas.”
Miltiadis Koulelis led the way for the winners with 193 yards and three touchdowns, followed by Malik Gagne-Smith-Smith with 148 yards and one touchdown. Hunter Swift chipped with 69 yards and another.
Mt. Douglas head coach Mark Townsend was proud of his team’s effort, yet knows there are still areas where improvement is needed. He also took his cap off to Moon’s players for their effort.
“Give credit to Coach Moon and his staff for playing us very tough, especially in the first half,” said Townsend. “I am proud of our players for this hard fought win and their effort in the second half. We are are good team but this is only the first step and we need to continue to improve each week.”
On defense, Jayden Koehler-Scott and Morgan Steve had four tackles each, followed by Bronson Pheiffer, T.J. Daw and Kayden Harris with three apiece.
South Delta quarterback Kenny Scott fought hard to the end, passing for 158 yards and a score, while rushing for 75 yards and another. Jesse Mitran rushed for 82 yards and added another 30 yards in receptions.
NEW WESTMINSTER 13 at BELMONT 0
VICTORIA — Lucas Steele and Jarius Pagtakahn did the damage and a tough Hyacks’ defence handled the rest as New Westminster ventured to the provincial capital Friday and blanked the host Bulldogs.
After a scoreless first half, Pagtakahn ran a sweep to the right from 13 yards to score his major in the third quarter.
In the fourth, Steele took it 75 yards up the middle for his rushing score to round out the scoring.
“It was a hard fought victory.,” said Hyacks’ head coach Clint Uttley. “They persevered and stood tall when we asked them to.”
New Westminster focussed on its ground game and rushed 29 times for 158 yards en route to the win.
Next up for the Hyacks are B.C.’s No. 1-ranked AA team.
“Today’s game showed us that there is still lots for us to work on, in all three phases, before we face a strong Vancouver College team next week,” added Uttley.
AAA EAST
MISSION 34 at W.J. MOUAT 35 (OT)
ABBOTSFORD — Chad Falk might not sleep for a week.
W.J. Mouat’s back-up kicker followed Caden Martens’ first-play 10-yard touchdown run with the deciding play in overtime, hitting the extra point that carried the host Hawks to a thrilling win over the visiting Roadrunners.
Mission feel behind 20-0 in the first quarter but came back to lead 28-20 in the fourth.
Mission went for two and were stopped, and that kept the door ajar for Mouat to score late and tie the game when Martens ran in the regulation-tying two-point convert.
In overtime, Mission scored on its first play and missed their two-point convert. Martens answered with a first play 10 touchdown run, setting the stage for Falk’s heroics.
Mouat’s opening quarter was impressive.
The Hawks took the opening kickoff down to the Mission five-yard line where Trey Luesley punched it in. A 60-yard bomb from quarterback Jackson Pratt to Ercy Avul made it 14-0 and Pratt then capped the opening frame by hitting brother Sam Pratt from 10 yards out.
Jackson Pratt finished 11-of-17 for 213 yards and two scores while Avul caught eight passes for 193 yards and a score.
Even in defeat, Mission’s rallying ways and the play of their emerging star running back were hard to miss.
Wes Latour wound up rushing for 168 yards and five touchdowns in the win.
“Our playbook is pretty limited with all the new players we have and Wes just made something out of nothing numerous times,” said Mission head coach Danny Jakobs. “He’s a special athlete and we certainly saw that today. it really was an exciting game with lots of fan noise which is what high school football is all about.”
No. 5 TERRY FOX 30 at No. 3 LORD TWEEDSMUIR 6
SURREY — The Ravens are on a roll.
Terry Fox moved to 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in conference play following its decisive win at Tweedsmuir.
Gavin Whittingham put up 170 yards on offence for the winners, scoring once both via the air and ground.
Whittingham caught nine passes for 115 yards and a score and also rushed 11 times for 55 yards and another.
Alex Gagnon also rushed for a touchdown.
Mathieu Gale and Renzel Arinaza added 35 and 50 yards respectively in receptions.
The defensive effort was led by interior tackles Juan Valle and Maxx Hanson who were outstanding against a depleted Lord Tweedsmuir backfield.
Afterwards, Ravens’ head coach Tom Kudaba applauded the efforts of his defensive and offensive coordinators Eric Taylor, Bruce Leitch and Jamie Clayton for their outstanding preparation.
Lord Tweedsmuir head coach Nick Kawaza said his team has faced challenges, but adde that the overall readiness needs to get better.
“The last two weeks have been a challenge due to Covid-related concerns,” he said. “Although our physical effort was acceptable today, our mental discipline was not. We expect to get back on track as we move forward. Fox played very well this afternoon and showed they’re a well-coached and talented team.
No. 5 G.W. GRAHAM 27 at KELOWNA 23
KELOWNA — Trailing by two touchdowns at the Apple Bowl in its first season at AAA, the G.W. Graham Grizzlies found themselves in an unenviable pickle on Friday.
Fourteen unanswered second-half point, however, provided to by the elixir the Chilliwack squad needed to pull out a four-point win, as quarterback Lucas Feaver (11-of-18, 107 yards) connected with Tyson Oregaard for the winning score in the fourth quarter.
“This was a character win for our boys,” said head coach Luke Acheson whose charges are now 4-0 overall on the season. “We faced a great deal of adversity with four starters out to injury.”
Leading the way again for the Grizzlies was league-leading running back Sam Mannes with 17 carries for 160 yards and three majors
Brayden Macdonald led all Grizzlies receivers with four catches for 56 yards.
“It was a battle out there,” said Kelowna head coach Chris Cartwright. “We showed some great things on both sides of the ball, but mental mistakes took over at the end. I’m really proud of our team and look forward to building off this. I feel that we learned a lot about how we need to approach practice. Hats off to G.W. Graham.”
For Kelowna, quarterback Joey Howroko went 21-of-29 for 253 yards and one touchdown.
Jack Nyrose rushed for 70 yards and a score, and led the defence with 10 tackles. Jaeke Schlachter finished with
The Grizzlies’ defence was led by Logan Tocher (seven tackles) and Vinny Branauer (four sacks and two forced fumbles).
Defensive tackles Kade Kelly added five tackles and a fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter to snuff out the final Owls drive.
ABBOTSFORD 8 at CENTENNIAL 49
COQUITLAM — Ziad Sabry and the rest of the host Centaurs were finally able to rejoice in victory Friday.
Sabry, a senior, took one of his two interceptions on the day for 35 yards for the score and rushed for touchdowns of 29, 25 and 59 yards as Centennial beat the Abbotsford Panthers 49-8 at its home oval.
“It was a great win for our program, but we know we still have so much to work on and we will get back to work for a tough battle next week,” said winning coach Dino Geremia, whose charges get a Big 5-ranked foe in Chilliwack’s G.W. Graham Grizzlies.
Grade 10 Milan Ljutic rushed 55 yards for a score, Tamani Duncan five yards for another, while Andrew Roseli caught a scoring strike from Grade 10 quarterback Rohan Aulakh.
Cam Keeskotogan led the stingy Centaurs’ defence with five tackles and a sack.
AA COASTAL
No. 4 LANGLEY 26 at No. 1 BALLENAS 0
PARKSVILLE — Why were they pre-season sleepers?
From unranked to unstoppable, the Langley Thunderbirds’ ceiling seems to know no bounds.
On Friday at No. 1 Ballenas, the kind of day the Thunderbirds were in store for began to come into focus with Aaron Linden hauling in an 80-yard touchdown reception to make the score 13-0.
From there, the energy never wilted.
“We were excited for this matchup because Ballenas are a physical opponent and they were ranked No. 1,” acknowledged Langley offensive coordinator Joe MacLeod. “On the ferry ride to the game you could feel that our team was focused on making a statement and showing what we were capable of as a team. And as well as we played this week, I still think we have room to grow as a team and get stronger.”
Quarterback Jordan Williams went 12-of-20 for 179 yards and one score, while running back Ryan Goesen caught a pair of TD passes and finished with 88 yards in receptions.
Reece Griffiths and Shawn Morse combined for nine tackles and each registered a sack while Louise Villamin returned a kick-off 65 yards for a score.
“Langley is very good, lots of talent and well-coached,” said Whalers’ assistant coach Jeremy Conn. “We don’t have a lot of depth as we don’t have a lot of players. Our theme of the week was execution and we just didn’t get it done. As players and as coaches we need to take a good look at what we need to do better.”
Ryker Pearson had three carries for 50 yards and went 9-of-23 passing for 83 yards. Pearson also led the team with eight tackles. Enzo Agostini had a pair of sacks while Will Dubesky had four tackles and a fumble recovery.
No. 2 ROBERT BATEMAN 21 at ARGYLE 20
NORTH VANCOUVER — Abbotsford’s Bateman Timberwolves had to fight hard for their ranking, twice erasing deficits, including one in the fourth quarter, to beat the Argyle Pipers on the road and remain undefeated in the Coastal.
“Argyle has an elite passing game,” said Bateman head coach David Mills, “and their quarterback made some really nice throws. They have some great athletes at receiver.”
All of that added up to a 12-0 deficit in the second quarter, one which was eased when quarterback Nolan Watrin connected with receiver Braeden Tuchscherer to make it 12-7.
Watrin’s 45-yard run put the T-Wolves on top 14-12 in the third quarter, but the visitors fell behind 20-14 and needed a four-yard TD run by Micah Barker in the fourth quarter to salvage the victory.
“We struggled to find some consistency out of the gate and they made us pay, but I’m am proud of how our guys battled back and were able to gut out a win,” added Mills, who credited a big part of the win to the cohesion the team’s offensive line built with Barker down the stretch.
Watrin passed for 116 yards and one score, while rushing for 80 yards and another. Barker added 63 more yards along the ground.
Tuchscherer and Watrin, from their spots in the secondary, added seven and three tackles respectively, with Watrin managing an interception. Linebacker Dallas Standcumbe added seven tackles.
WEST VANCOUVER 33 at HOLY CROSS 6
SURREY — Malcolm Lotz had lots of fun in the first senior varsity football game of his career.
And the Grade 10 linebacker’s scoop-and-score 85-yard game-capping fourth quarter touchdown for the visiting Highlanders certainly qualifies as the highlight.
“He really impressed at linebacker and was rewarded with his touchdown,” remarked West Vancouver head coach David Hollinshead, whose team won for the second straight week.
The game didn’t start out looking like anything was certain for West Vancouver.
In fact Holy Cross turned an interception into a 91-yard touchdown run by senior Cam Cividino.
Highlanders’ quarterback Matthieu Theil continued to light up the airways with four touchdown passes, two of which were hauled in by receiver Jonny Corbett.
“I’m especially proud of our lineman,” added Hollinshead. “They rose to the challenge I set on them and controlled the trenches.”
Tight ends Shayan Kermany and Lucas Perez had a touchdown each, both off 20-yard strikes from Theil.
“After that big touchdown run the Crusaders had, our defensive line impressed me,” added Hollinshead. “Perez, with the trio of Sam Theil, Josh Wu, and Reza Nia held firm making big plays in the backfield.”
Running back Bruce Jones added 95-all purpose yards in the win.
“That was a tough loss for us,” admitted Holy Cross head coach Conrad Deugau. “We came out strong but had a hard time sustaining drives. Unfortunately we turned the ball over four times and that pretty much was the story for the game on our end.
WINDSOR 0 at CARSON GRAHAM 32
NORTH VANCOUVER — The Carson Graham Eagles put a tough loss behind them in impressive fashion Friday against a crosstown rival in the tough Coastal Conference.
“I was really proud of how we re-grouped over the last week,” head coach Brian Brady told Varsity Letters, referencing a 50-6 loss last week to the Langley Thunderbirds in the conference opener for both teams.
“We had a bunch of players break through and make big plays on both sides of the ball. It was a good team win.”
Senior starting quarterback Logan Mellish went 20-of-32 for 203 yards and hit receiver Malek Gul for one of his two TD catches on the day.
Liam Marshall came on late and went 3-of-6 for 36 yards, and also threw a scoring strike to Gul, who finished with five catches for 77 yards.
On the day, the pair of pivots combined to throw to eight different Eagles’ receivers, including Griffin Withers who had six catches for 65 yards, and Aidan Nemeth who had four more for 68 yards.
Senior running back Ashton Fink carried four times for 68 yards and a score while Mellish turned 15 of his snaps into 72 yards along the ground, scoring a two-point convert in the process.
“Windsor fought really hard, played tough and showed a lot of heart despite playing with a lot of players out,” added Brady, whose defence, including a young-and-rising group of Grade 11 linebackers supported senior backer Max Millar with great tackling numbers across the board.
Two of Millar’s six stops came from behind the line of scrimmage. Meanwhile Grade 11s Vytor Oliveira (7 tackles) and Ryan Corda (five tackles) turned in solid contests.
Withers, from his spot in the secondary, had two tackles, and went 90 yards for a pick-six major.
AA/AAA HYBRID
SALMON ARM 0 at No. 3 VERNON 61
VERNON — Seven different Panthers combined to score nine touchdowns as Vernon won its first game of the season in impressive fashion Friday.
Quarterback Jake Farrell led the offence going 10-of-17 for 269 yards and two touchdowns passes, in addition to calling his own number on a 29-yard rushing score.
The Panthers scored on their only two possessions of the first quarter and punted once in the game.
Jordan Loxam (10-yard catch), Mitchell Bond (29 -yard catch), Scotty Hoffman (40-yard catch, five-yard rush), Brayden Khunkhun (23-yard rush), Kolby Thorpe (20-yard rush, two-yard rush), Jake Farrell (29-yard rush), Landon Janke (recovered blocked punt in end zone) accounted for the major scores.
For the third consecutive week, the Panthers defense was stout and were able to keep their opponents under 15 points. Scotty Hoffman and Kolby Thorpe each registered six tackles and Mitchell Bond had the games only interception.
“I thought our defence was very stingy again this week,” said Vernon head coach Sean Smith. “We didn’t give up many plays over five yards and were able to keep them off the scoreboard. Scotty Hoffman and Kolby Thorpe was great on the second level tonight.
“We’ve still got a ways to go offensively – our execution is still a bit off, but I’m seeing signs of improvement every week,” Smith added. “I was happy to see Jordan Loxam get his first touchdown reception as a Panther.”
Braden Khunkhun went 2-of-2 for 57 yards, including a 40-yard TD. Although they didn’t score majors, Roan Reid caught four passes for 102 yards and Scott Hoffman three for 120 yards.
NANIMO DISTRICT 0 at SARDIS 59
CHILLIWACK — The host Falcons opened conference play in definitive fashion, scoring three first-quarteer touchdowns and never looking back in its victory over the visiting Nanaimo District Islanders.
Sawyer Tether scored on a 30-yard touchdown run, quarterback Aidan Saunders hit tight end Zach Wolter with the first of his two TD strikes and running back Billy Hunter scored on a seven-yard run to end the quarter. Kaein Jenner touchdowns of 14 and nine yards and Saunders even kicked a field goal.
Falcons’ head coach Sukh Parmar applauded the efforts of his entire team and noted that Hunter, Wolter and Sauders were excellent on both sides of the ball.
Free safety Tobias Teo and outside linebacker Mike Dominelli each recorded five tackles in the loss for NDSS.
Said Isles coach Nate Stevenson: “Another week of learning. We had a great week of practice, we got a few areas sorted out, and headed for the competitive side of the game. I’m proud of this crew tangling with the Falcons. They are good and we are getting better.”
If you’re reading this story or viewing these photos on any website other than one belonging to a university athletic department, it has been taken without appropriate permission. In these challenging times, true journalism will survive only through your dedicated support and loyalty. VarsityLetters.ca and all of its exclusive content has been created to serve B.C.’s high school and university sports community with hard work, integrity and respect. Feel free to drop us a line any time at howardtsumura@gmail.com.
