Here is Saturday’s edition of the B.C. High School Football Report:
TRIPLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
No. 5 MT. DOUGLAS 14 at No. 4 VANCOUVER COLLEGE 35
VANCOUVER — Vancouver College Homecoming at O’Hagan Field, on a perfect Saturday afternoon, complete with cheering Irish fans?
Get a combination like that and you never want the spoil the occasion with a poor performance.
Daesaun Johnson surely felt the same way, and his efforts were proof of the point.
Johnson carried 17 times for 194 yards and three touchdowns, his 10-yard touchdown run opening the game and his 37-yard scoring run closing it out as the Irish bounced back from last weekend’s loss at South Delta to beat Victoria’s No. 5-ranked Mt. Douglas Rams.
“It was a great day to get the win at Homecoming in front of over 1,000 fans, said Irish head coach Todd Bernett who also got scoring runs of 76 yards from Johnson and 35 yards from Jason Soriano, as well as a 23-yard Jackson Findlay pick-six.
“It was nice to get a win and bounce back. The team has faced a lot of adversity this season in a variety of forms. I liked that we were solid in all three phases of the game which contributed to the team victory.”
Hunter Swift and Peter Primeau each scored on one-yard runs for the Rams, who were shut out over the second half.
“Vancouver College prepared and played very well today, and deserved the victory,” said Rams’ head coach Mark Townsend. “The Irish have an excellent team, and there were a couple of plays in the game I wish we had back, but our players are competing hard, and I know we will be rewarded, matching our efforts going forward.”
Soriano had just three carries but finished with 65 yards for Vancouver College. The Irish defence was led by the 16 tackles of Matt Hoag, with seven from Colin Dolynski, and six each from Simon Smith and Ryan Hsiao. Soriano added a pick.
It was a busy day for Cole Bunting who led the Rams’ defense with 13 tackles and a sack. Kai Harris excelled and had eighth tackles, followed by Joe Lucas and Jackson Reid with seven and Enrique Del Alcazar with five and a sack.
CARSON GRAHAM 6 at No. 3 SOUTH DELTA 54
TSAWWASSEN — South Delta game details unavailable.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
CENTENNIAL 0 at No. 5 ABBOTSFORD 34
ABBOTSFORD — The host Panthers formulated a simple game plan, then worked hard to execute it.
“Right out of the gate we looked to establish our offensive line and they really stepped up today against an aggressive Centennial defence,” said Abbotsford head coach Jay Fujimura.
On his fifth carry of the game, Panthers’ star running back Jalem Catlin burst out with a 70-yard touchdown run, en route to 32 carries for 352 yards and four touchdowns.
Quarterback Austin Martin completed all four of his pass attempts for 63 yards, including a 15-yard scoring strike to Hayden Vermeulen.
David Coronado led the receivers with two catches for 44 yards.
The Panthers’ defense attacked with a true team mentality, led by Silvestro Aging’s five tackles, four and a pick from Vermuelen and three tackles and an interception by Blake Neufeld.
“I was really happy with our intensity this game,” added Fujimura. “We are going to need that next week against Tweedsmuir.”
A couple bright spots for Centennial were a pair of long receptions by Grade 10 Keyshawn Beswick and an interception by Howard Jiao.
“Abby is a strong, physical football team that stuck to the plan and made it difficult for the Centaurs to get anything going on offence,” said Centennial head coach Dino Geremia.
FRIDAY
PACIFIC DIVISION
SULLIVAN HEIGHTS 0 at RUTLAND 54
KELOWNA — Jhavoun Blake touched the ball six times Friday, totalling 256 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Sullivan Heights.
Blake rushed five times for 185 yards and three touchdowns, and he caught a 71-yard touchdown pass.
Quarterback Liam Attwood threw three touchdown passes, going six-of-11 for 196 yards through the air.
He also rushed four times for 85 yards and a score.
Grade 10 linebacker Kai Brydon had seven tackles and a forced fumble, while Dan Tran led the winners with eight tackles.
“Our effort level was a lot better this week after being awful last week, so we’re proud of our kids for their focus this week,” said Stars head coach Gord Randall.
“Offensively, we have proven to be able to run the ball consistently but need to be competent in the passing game and haven’t got there yet.”
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