Hyacks hold on amid homecoming scare
The New Westminster Hyacks took to Mercer Stadium in front of a packed crowd for their homecoming game. The estimated 4000 people in attendance didn’t get your typical blowout victory, often seen at the event throughout the years. Instead, they held their breath until the final whistle as they were almost witness to a historic upset and homecoming crashing at the hands of the Kelowna Owls. Eventually, the Hyacks would hold on 28-21 but not without the game being in question until the final moments.
The Hyacks’ coaching staff all had immense praise when it came to their opponents on Friday night.
“Kelowna played a great game and their kids played with unbelievable effort. My hats off to those kids and their coaches,” said Hyacks’ offensive coordinator Darnell Sikorski.
“They fought for everything and kept playing right to the final whistle,” said Hyacks,” said head coach Andrew McKechnie.
The Hyacks’ offence started slowly for a third straight week, having found the endzone just once when running back Nikolas Panesar broke the plane for six. The team has scored just 21 points collectively in the first half this season. A trend Sikorski knows his unit can’t continue.
“We have to find a way to get off to faster starts offensively if we’re going to play up to our potential. We’ve shown flashes of great play, so we’ll work hard to put it all together consistently,” said Sikorski.
“The week of practice really reflected how this game went offensively. Slow start, but better in the 2nd half. We had some good individual moments and ultimately won the football game, which we’ll take, but we have to play better as a team and unit,” he continued.
The Hyacks found themselves deadlocked at seven come halftime. Despite allowing just one score through two quarters, the Hyacks’ defence allowed a major on the final drive of the half and was struggling to control Owls’ quarterback Storm Wynne. With Kelowna starting to gain momentum adjustments needed to be made.
“Wynne gave us some problems defensively as he kept plays alive with his legs, and their running back ran hard and fought for some hard first downs,” said Hyacks’ defensive coordinator Chad Oatway.
With adjustments being made on both sides of the ball, the brunt of those changes fell on Mateo McDonell. With his team desperately needing a spark, the running back and do-it-all defender took over the game.
McDonell was everywhere on both sides of the ball. He could be seen chasing down Wynne from behind for sacks, tracking running backs down in the backfield for tackles for loss, or running into the endzone after breaking and avoiding the Owls’ defenders’ tackling attempts.
“Our guys were able to listen and execute adjustments at the half, and our D-line and backers stepped up with Matteo making impact plays in the second half. Overall, we are coming together, and I am really proud of how our defence is playing,” said Oatway on McDonell and his units’ performance.
McDonell’s two second-half rushing majors and stellar defensive play had the Hyacks up 21-14 in the fourth quarter. With the ball in their hands and just six minutes to go, the Hyacks needed one more big play.
On the first play from scrimmage after the Owls cut the lead to seven, Sikorski called on his fullback. Kah’ri Johnson took the handoff and followed the crease within the B gap his lineman created for him. Within a second, he was up to the second level and cut perfectly to a seam created by a block by McDonell. Johnson called game as he sprinted down the middle of the field into the endzone, 28-14 Hyacks with under six to go.
The Hyacks’ defence allowed a score on the next drive, but made the Owls eat up all but 30 seconds of the remaining time on the game clock. After the ensuing onside kick was recovered by the home team Hyacks players, coaches and fans could finally take a much-needed sigh of relief.
The Hyacks are happy to have avoided their first homecoming loss since 2011, but know there’s a ton to improve on going forward.
“We started slow and then had a number of mental mistakes in the first half, compounded by a lack of discipline throughout the game. We cannot afford to play this way as we start our regular season next week, against an excellent team like Bateman,” said McKechnie.
“Our defence kept us in it early while our offence was figuring itself out. Chad Oatway and his defensive staff did a great job of prep this week and without them and their hard work, this would have been a very different game,” he continued.
With nothing going the team’s way for much of the game, McKechnie praised a few of his players who stepped up.
“Kahri Johnson ran well tonight and Mateo McDonell looked like he was all over the field, leading our team on defence. I do have to call out sophomore Joey Baker. Joey filled in for us at receiver and made a couple of big catches when we needed them,” he said.
Going through adverse situations early in the season always pays dividends come playoff time. No matter how bad things got on Friday night, the Hyacks refused to give up. If they keep that quality while learning their much-needed lessons learned this past week, the Hyacks coaching staff says the sky is the limit with this group of players.
Knights’ defence and triple option attack too much for Bears
If you like an old school pound the ball, while trying to impose your will on your opponent, kind of football game, this Saturday’s matchup between the St. Thomas Moore Knights and the Mt. Boucherie Bears was for you. The Knights toted the rock early and often and played complementary football in all three phases on their way to a 23-10 victory.
These teams love to run the ball, but do so in a different way stylistically. The Knights take what their opponents give them in their pistol triple option offence. While the Bears line up in their old school I formation scheme and try to pound the ball with their tailback, as a fullback and pulling guard guide them upfield.
The knights scored first on a long drive to go up 7-0 when Isaiah Smith called his own number on a bootleg for a five-yard touchdown run. Mt. Boucherie drove the field on their ensuing drive, but were stopped on the STM ten-yard line and were forced to settle for a field goal and still trailed, now 7-3.
The Knights’ defence would prove to be the difference in this one. Led by Adam Graham’s team-high 7 tackles and 1 forced fumble, as well as Milano Peloso’s 5 tackles and 2 fumble recoveries, the Knights’ unit refused to allow the Bears to finish a drive until late in this contest.
Forcing their opponents to stall or turn the ball over in the red zone, the Knights forced the Bears to leave far too many points off the board.
STM’s offence would drive the field with 1 minute left in the half and finish their drive on a 30-yard field goal by Matteo Plecko.
In the 3rd quarter, the Knights scored on their opening drive when Isaiah Smith capped off a long drive on a QB sneak. Then on their next possession, the Knights would put away the Bears for good on a 22-yard run by Kayden Chan.
Offensive standouts of the Knights included Chan, who finished the game with 72 yards rushing and a score, as well as Isaiah Smith, who ran for 48 yards and two touchdowns, threw for 62 yards, had three tackles and one Interception on defence.
The Knights will enjoy this win the rest of the weekend before shifting their focus on Monday to their next opponent, the Carson Graham Eagles.
It ain’t over till it’s over; Centaurs victorious after insane final minutes
When two great teams play against one another, the margin between victory and defeat is razor-thin. This matchup between the Centennial Centaurs and South Delta Sun Devils proved just that. These two contenders went blow for blow with one another and in the end, the Centaurs were victorious by a mere two points, in a 22-20 victory.
After Centennial took a 2-0 lead off a safety, the Sun Devils came storming back late in the second quarter. First, Damian Dumas took a snap from the gun just shy of midfield. He called his own number on a quarterback draw, made three defenders grasp at air, hit the right sideline and went yard for the Sun Devils’ first major of the game.
Later, with the ball back in South Delta’s possession after forcing a turnover deep in their own territory, Dumas showed off his arm strength. The Sun Devils emptied out their backfield and Dumas took the snap gain from the gun. He faded back to pass and ripped the ball between two Centaurs on a crossing route to his receiver Quinn Sjoberg. The 6’5 target took off for a big gain after the catch deep into Centaurs territory before being hauled down.
Dumas would finish off the drive a couple plays later on a quarterback sneak to take a 13-2 South Delta lead into the half. With the game beginning to slip away, the Centaurs needed to answer fast to start the third quarter.
Their defence provided the first spark as they stopped the Sun Devils and got the ball back to quarterback Jacob Cusker. The Centaurs used a balanced attack, running the ball inside with Jasper Baron as well as letting Cusker distribute the ball to his targets to drive deep into Sun Devil territory before Cusker found Ediri Ena-Laqui in the back of the endzone to cut the deficit to 13-8.
The pace of the game would die down as both defences took control for the rest of the third quarter. That trend seemed to be continuing until, with just under four minutes to go in the ball game, when all hell broke loose.
The Centaurs pounded the rock with Jasper Baron and worked their way all the way to the three-yard line before Cusker ran it in, putting the Centaurs up 16-13, after a Baron two-point convert was added after the major.
Since the explosive end to the first half, the Sun Devils’ explosive attack had been held dormant, but as anyone who’s followed football in BC the last couple of years knows, you can only contain Damian Dumas for so long.
The very first play from scrimmage after the score, Dumas showed why he’s so special. Damian took the snap from the gun but dropped the ball. While most players would panic, Dumas stayed calm, picked up the ball and threw a strike to Stoberg down the right sideline on a fade ball, who showed off his blazing speed, outrunning the Centaurs’ defence for a 60-yard score. A dropped snap resulted in Dumas dropping a dime and just like that, the Sun Devils regained the lead 20-16.
The Centaurs’ lead had evaporated in a matter of seconds. Now, all the Centaur’s offence could do was put their helmets back on and get ready to head out and respond after the ensuing kickoff. As they prepared themselves for a due-or-die drive, that aforementioned kickoff fell into Jaedyn Livingstone’s hands at his own 20-yard line.
Livingstone took the ball from the right hash mark and quickly darted to the middle of the field. He got to about the 35-yard line before two defenders had him seemingly cut off. Livingstone made a quick jump cut, evading both players, and found a seam down the left hash. He was at the 50, the 40, and now, with just the kicker to evade, he wound back to the middle of the field, making him miss and then outran the rest of the Sun Devils’ kickoff team, sprinting the rest of the way before crossing the goal line.
The Centaurs’ bench erupted as that return proved to be the game-winner. What a wild end to a fantastic game, between two teams who will likely be playing deep into November.
“It was a great football game with two good teams. I was pleased with our resilience to come back in the second half and keep fighting every play. It is difficult to pick any specific players on defence as it was truly a team defensive effort,” said Centaur’s head coach Dino Geremia.
“They were solid all night. Most specifically, the defensive line made some big plays vs the very talented Dumas when they had to late in the game. We have to enjoy this for a couple of hours and then focus on a tough road game to play Belmont next week at their house,” he said.
As for the Sun Devils, they’ll head out on the road to take on the number one-ranked WJ Mouat Hawks next Friday.
Maroons win in gritty fashion
In a tight-knit battle against College Heights Secondary, the Clarence Fulton Maroons emerged victorious 20-14.
“This was a gritty, hard-hitting game that went back and forth. We knew CHSS was going to be a tough match up for us. They have some fast athletes, and they are well coached. We would like to thank them for making the long trip down here,” said Maroons’ head coach Mike Scheller.
Defences ruled the day in the first half. Both units made each other’s offences work for every inch they gained. With the score tied at seven in the third quarter, the Maroons leaned on their quarterback, Ryder Altwasser. The signal caller was only making his second career start, something you wouldn’t be able to notice by watching him play.
Altwasser accounted for all 20 points the Maroons scored on the day. After finding teammate Alex Glover in the endzone in the first half, the Maroons’ starting pivot marched his team downfield three separate times in the second half, all of which resulted in points.
Altwasser would run another Major in himself from 12 yards out, before putting two field goals through the uprights to secure his team’s six-point victory. Altwasser wasn’t the only Maroon who stood out on Friday.
“I am proud of our kids. We had some very good performances. Fin Holliday was great for us on both sides of the ball. He was very solid at tight end in the first half and had to switch to tailback in the second half. He ran hard and helped seal the win,” said Scheller.
“Ollie Horne made a lot of tackles for us at linebacker and blocked well at slot receiver. Guards Noah Mcintrye and Jacob Glover were solid up front for us. Altwasser was very good in only his second start,” Scheller continued.
Scheller said Brandon Gotro and Austin Thomas also stood out in the secondary. He says the defence played a major part in his team’s win.
“We won the turnover battle 3 to 1, which secured the game for us. We have lots to work on, but we’re happy to get the W.”
The Maroons will turn their attention to Shas Ti Kelly Road, who they play next Friday.
Hawks and their star quarterback poised for great things in 2025
The WJ Mouat Hawks are the top-ranked team in the province for a reason. Mouat is fast and physical with an ideal size on both sides of the ball. The Hawks are the team to beat right now as they showed in their decisive 56-9 win over the Sardis Falcons.
Another factor that sets Mouat apart is quarterback Elijah Black. The senior quarterback processes the game pre-snap and post-snap at a level I’ve yet to see in BC High School football.
Playing soft zone coverages? Black will take his free access throws all day. Playing press coverage? The quarterback will put the ball on the money to one of his playmakers deep downfield. If you take all that away, Black will use his athleticism to extend the play; he’s truly a defensive coordinator’s worst nightmare.
Black finished with a jaw-dropping stat line, going 27-of-30 for 448 yards, 5 passing touchdowns, and 1 rushing score. Those five passing majors give him 16 on the season, in just four games. Leading the province in touchdown passes, if Black stays on this trajectory, he’ll be on pace for 40 in the regular season.
The senior quarterback is the Hawks’ star player, but he wasn’t the only one making plays on Friday. Senior linebacker Charlie Franson took the opening kickoff 99 yards to the house. With Sardis with the ball moments later, a third down arose.
As the Falcons dropped back to pass, Franson screamed off the edge on an outside pressure and took down the Falcons’ QB for a sack. The Falcons were forced to punt and with that, the Hawks’ special teams and defence had set the tone to start the game.
From there, Black and Mouats’ offence took the field and never looked back. The Senior connected with wideout Max Pratt on three straight passes for 50 yards, the last of which resulted in a major to make it 14-0.
Black continued his hot start, calling his own number on the Hawks’ third drive with a 15-yard rushing score, his fifth of the season. On the very next possession, he found receiver Treyson Harley in the back of the end zone from 15 yards out, capping a 28-0 first quarter.
The Hawks’ air attack continued to soar all night, led by Harley, who hauled in 5 catches for 143 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Pratt, who had 8 catches for 152 yards and 2 scores. Santiago Llarena and Tim Magana also found success with receptions leading to big chunk plays.
On defence, the Hawks were just as sharp. Blessed Simango was all over the field, leading the way with 8 tackles. Nazeef Rahman added 7 stops of his own, while Franson had 5 tackles to go with his sack and kickoff return touchdown that started the game.
The Hawks will look to get back to work on Monday, as they prepare for their matchup against the talented South Delta Sun Devils on Friday.
Irish’s Curran to Brunel connection to much for Grizzlies to handle
The Vancouver College Fighting Irish rebounded this week after a loss to Lynden Christian in their previous matchup. Taking on the GW Graham Grizzlies this week, the Irish got back to what they’ve done in every game within the province in the last three years: win. This time, 22-11 against a scrappy Grizzlies team who refused to go down without a fight.
Playing in their last tune-up before regular-season play, the Irish looked to start fast. The Grizzlies had ideas of their own. As Irish QB Benen Curran dropped back to pass, he hit the top of his drop and spotted what seemed to be a wide-open speed-out route toward the sideline. As the ball left Curran’s hands, Grizzlies corner Lincoln Glenn exploded out of his break, jumped the route, snagged the ball out of the air and took off down the sidelines before being forced out of bounds deep in Irish territory.
VC wasn’t fazed by their early mistake. Their defence took the field and gave the Grizzlies nothing. Flowing hard on inside runs and deflecting a passing attempt away from danger, the Irish forced the Grizzlies to settle for a field goal.
Both teams’ defensive units would make life exceedingly difficult for each other until late in the second quarter. The Grizzlies smothered the Irish’s offence, not allowing them to get any rhythm, forcing punts and 4th down stops.
VC’s defence was just as stingy. Being tasked with defending multiple short fields, the Irish stood up to the challenge and gave the Grizzlies nothing in the red zone, pushing their opponents back with sacks and tackles for loss, forcing a long field goal attempt, which was missed.
A big part of that Irish defence was linebacker Matt Stevenson. The rangy LB flew around the field all afternoon, finishing the game with 10 tackles and 3 sacks.
Stevenson and the Irish defence had bought their offence time to collect themselves and find the formula for moving the ball against the Grizzlies. That aforementioned formula was the Curran and Owen Brunel show.
With 1:40 to go in the second frame, Curran dropped back to pass. He looked off the Grizzlies’ defence to his right and with pressure in his face, he stepped up into the pocket and let it fly to Brunel streaking past his defender on a skinny post to the left side of the field. The Irish QB’s pass was perfect, hitting Brunel in stride, who sprinted into the endzone untouched to put his team up 7-3.
After forcing a three-and-out, VC had the ball back in Grizzlies territory with just under a minute to go in the first half. On a fourth and long, just outside of field goal range, the Irish went for it. The fans packing O’Hagan Field must have felt some Deja vu as Curran again hit the top of his drop and launched another pass deep inside the left hash mark. Awaiting that pass behind his defender? You guessed it, Brunel again. With two touchdowns in under a minute, the Curran to Brunel connection had the Irish up 15-3 at the half.
The Irish would take that massive swing of momentum and use it to slowly close out G.W. Graham in the second half. Brunel would grab his third touchdown of the afternoon, this time on a screen pass, to extend the lead to 22-3. From there, the Irish would continue to play tough defensively and run the ball to chew the clock.
G.W. would fight to the final whistle and put up a late score as quarterback Lincoln Boyd found receiver Cody Hagel, but those two Irish majors late in the second quarter proved to be too much for the Grizzlies to overcome. As the scoreboard hit zero, it read 22-11 in VC’s favour.
The Irish coaching staff was pleased with how their team responded to early adversity.
“There were mistakes on both sides of the ball that we will need to fix before next week. But GW is a good football program, and I am happy with how our team responded to the challenge of playing a gritty, coached team,” said Assistant Head Coach Regan Oey postgame.
With the regular season around the corner, the Irish will look to fix those aforementioned mistakes and be at their best come next week when they take on the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers.
The Grizzlies have played a tough pre-season schedule, which included two top-ten-ranked teams in the province. They’ve had flashes of brilliance from quarterback Lincoln Boyd, receivers Ridley Mastin and Cody Hagel, as well as their physical defence. They’ll try to use these early losses as valuable lessons as they work their way to the start of their regular season.