Parrotta runs wild as Jugglers win big
The Notre Dame Jugglers have bounced back emphatically from two early-season losses. The Jugglers won their second straight game this past Friday when they defeated the Carson Graham Eagles 41-0.
Notre Dame dictated play from the opening whistle, scoring four first-half touchdowns, in their convincing win. Jugglers’ Quarterback Caleb Parrotta was a huge reason for his team’s success offensively.
Parrotta’s superpower is making something out of nothing. Don’t get me wrong, he’s fully capable of staying in the pocket and delivering dimes to his targets, but his ability to turn what surely looks like a negative play into a positive play for his team is truly special.
Take Parrotta’s second of his two first-quarter rushing touchdowns as an example. On a quarterback draw, the signal caller followed his lead blocker inside. Once Parrotta got five yards upfield, he was met by a swarm of Eagles’ defenders. Seemingly completely boxed in with nowhere to go, he faked left and made a beautiful jump cut to split two Eagles defenders. As he broke into the open field, he broke the ankles of not one, not two, but three Eagles’ defenders on his way to a score.
What should have been at most a 5-yard gain had turned into an electric, must-watch 51-yard touchdown. That run opened the floodgates for Notre Dame’s offence and they never looked back.
In the second quarter, running back Sayj Gill capped off a drive on a 4-yard run. Soon after, Michael MacLeod then finished the first half scoring with a 30-yard touchdown reception from Parrotta. Receiver Mateo Warwas-Gonzalez added a 2-point convert and grade 9 kicker Matteo Tinaburri was good on the extra point off those scores as the Jugglers went up 28-0 at the half.
Notre Dame kept their foot on the gas in the third quarter as they added a 53-yard touchdown pass from Parrotta to MacLeod and Gill had a 1-yard run to finish the Jugglers’ scoring. Offensive coaches Denis Kelly and Brendan Devane were impressed with the team’s explosive offensive performance.
Notre Dame’s defence also came to play. Defensive coaches George Oswald, Jerry Mulliss and Andrea Ferronato were pleased with the great pass rush of ends Diante Villegas and Emiliano Cortes, as well as tackles Dominik Mouro and Almarico Nguyen, resulting in 5 QB sacks. Outside linebacker Sachin Rattan added an interception to round out the defensive unit’s strong day.
Special Teams coaches Matt MacLeod and Wayne Theobald gave full marks to the coverage teams and to the kicking of Tinaburri.
The Jugglers will enjoy this full team effort win this weekend, but their coaching staff knows they’re in for another big test next week.
“Next up for the Jugglers is Belmont from the Island. They have an outstanding team this year and will be a huge test for the host team on Friday,” said Jugglers’ head coach Dennis Kelly.
Notre Dame will get back to work and look to defend their home field on October 10th, at 2 pm, when the Bulldogs come to town.
Titans Dominate Fulton with 47–7 Victory in Vernon
Courtesy: Barrie de Boer
The South Kamloops Titans showed up in force on Saturday, delivering a statement win with a commanding 47–7 victory over the Clarence Fulton Maroons in Vernon.
The Titans’ defence was nearly flawless, allowing just a single touchdown late in the game. Daxon Cookson led the defensive charge with an impressive 18 total tackles, including a sack, while the defensive front, anchored by Jayden de Boer with 10 tackles and a sack, kept Fulton’s offence bottled up all afternoon. Mason Gozda added to the defensive effort with three tackles and an interception, ensuring the Maroons never found their rhythm.
On the offensive side, South Kamloops was electric. Senior quarterback Cole Rigler put on a clinic, completing 15 of 20 passes for 440 yards and tossing six touchdown passes. His primary weapon, running back Lloyd Heggen, was unstoppable with 210 total yards and four touchdowns—three receiving and one rushing. Rigler’s other scoring connections went to Derian Dyck, Mason Gozda, and Cohen McDermid, rounding out a balanced and explosive aerial attack.
With this dominant performance, the Titans have found their stride heading into one of the season’s most anticipated matchups: the City Championship game (Chow Cup) against their cross-town rivals, the Westsyde Whundas.
Kickoff Saturday October 11th at 1pm at the school field of Westside Secondary.
Knights win back-and-forth affair
Divisional games always bring the best out of teams. With playoff spots and seeding on the line with every game, the intensity of matchups always ramps up this time of year. In a AAA Central contest, the St. Thomas More Knights took on the Terry Fox Ravens in a back-and-forth affair that came down to the final moments of the game. When the clock hit zero, the Knights emerged victorious 28-27.
The Knights opened the scoring on a long drive. The plan for that opening drive was simple and effective: pound the ball with Cristian Coletta. That method of attack was used throughout the game as Coletta was a workhorse with 20 runs for 183 yards rushing, as well as the opening score.
The Ravens’ game plan showcased a different approach: let quarterback Firth Ben work his magic. Ben scrambled away from STM defenders, kept the ball on designed runs and threw the ball with excellent timing to his receivers within structure.
The Ravens answered that first score from the Knights when Ben found Jacob Trudeau on a go ball from just past midfield to tie the game. Not long after, with the ball back in the Ravens’ hands, Ben took off on an electric 30-yard scramble to set his team up inside the five-yard line. The Ravens would punch the ball in a couple of plays later and take their first lead of the game, 15-7.
With the Ravens’ run defence keying on Colletta and the Knights’ run game, STM switched things up. Knights quarterback Isaiah Smith took the snap, faked to a teammate working across the formation and launched a perfect pass downfield to Liam Golding for six. Milano Peloso would throw a running back pass to Alex Johnston to even the score at 15 on the ensuing two-point try.
After the Knights made a defensive stop deep in their end, their offence executed a near-perfect two-minute drill with Isaiah Smith hitting Milano Peloso with a 30-yard strike with just seconds left in the first half.
On STM’s second possession of the half, Milano Peloso pounded the ball in on a sweep from 5 yards out to extend the Knights’ lead.
STM may have been up two scores, but this game was far from over. First, Bobby Tilley cut into the lead on a long run off a beautiful double-handoff reverse play. After a big stop, the Ravens got the ball back. Terry Fox would cap that drive off when Woodsen MacRae took a handoff off tackle to the right and burst into the open field for a 13-yard score with five minutes to play. On the ensuing extra point, STM blocked the convert to keep a 28-27 lead.
The Ravens would get one more chance with the ball with under two minutes to go, but the Knights would make a huge stop on fourth and long to seal the victory.
“I was very proud of our guys. We’ve shown resilience throughout the season so far, and tonight was more of that,” said Knights head coach Jared Power.
“If we can improve upon our tendency to ride emotional ups and downs during games, we will be able to meet our full potential at the right time of the year. Back to work to prepare for Seaquam next week,” he said.
As the Knights shift their focus to their next opponent, the Ravens will do the same as they get ready for a crucial game against the New Westminster Hyacks next Friday.
Crusaders get first win of 2025
It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. That old adage rings true in many aspects of life, including on the gridiron. The Holy Cross Crusaders have not had the start to their 2025 campaign that they likely imagined. Winless entering their matchup against a cross-town rival in the Sullivan Heights Stars, the Crusaders finally put it all together with a 13-0 victory that the team hopes can propel them in the right direction moving forward.
“After a 0-4 start, it feels good to get off the losing skid with a win over Sullivan Heights. It was a really intense physical game today, and the Sullivan team really pushed us to execute. They were very amped up for this game, and they came out intense and really pushed us,” Crusaders head coach Conrad Deugau said post-game.
The Crusades were fueled by their ferocious defence. No matter what the Stars tried, there was no room to be had.
“Our defence was outstanding today. Sullivan struggled to get any real momentum on offence. Our DL was a huge factor in getting at least two sacks on the day. Rohith Fernando had a crucial interception early,” said Deugau.
The Stars’ defence kept things close until the final whistle. They forced turnovers in the red zone and stalled multiple promising Crusaders drives. Holy Cross had to rely on its field goal unit, which is never a given at the high school level.
“Our offence had some struggles today, but we were able to move the ball into scoring position a number of times. Only 1 resulted in a rushing touchdown via Luke Tamis. Other possessions resulted in 2 field goals from kicker Michel Olychick,” Deugau said.
Thanks to Tamis and Olychick, those 13 points were enough to hold on for the Crusaders’ first win of the year. Deugau knows his team needs to clean up those struggles in the red area, as well as a few other little things holding his team back.
“We have a lot to work on. We took way too many penalties, which hurt multiple drives and scoring opportunities. We head into the bye week with a number of key things to improve on, but to also rest and get healthy.”
The Crusaders will use their bye week to do just that. When they resume play the week after, they’ll look to put the struggles of September behind them and get back to 500 by the end of October.