Centaurs hold on for win in late comeback bid by Timberwolves
Football is a game of inches. In today’s matchup between the Centennial Centaurs and Robert Bateman Timberwolves, the old cliche reared its head in a critical moment, helping propel the Centaurs to a 21-13 victory.
Both teams’ red zone defenses were on display early. The Centaurs and Timberwolves drove downfield on their first drives, continually moving the chains before being stonewalled inside the twenty-yard line.
During the Timberwolves’ second drive, a pivotal moment unfolded. As quarterback Luke Hall prepared to punt the ball away, Centaurs lineman Pierre Suarez executed a remarkable play, flying off the edge and managing to get his fingertips on the ball.
As the ball bounced high in the air after the block, it fell right into the hands of Adam Teglasi, who proceeded to take the ball back 40 yards to the house for the game’s opening score.
That touchdown was the only six points scored in the entire first half. A big part of that was the Centaur’s physical front four. Bateman tried time and time again to run the ball inside, but when they did, ball carriers were met by a sea of Centuars defensive linemen in the offensive backfield.
On passing down, the Centaurs mixed up, dialing up well time pressures with inside linebackers Harry Lobay and Ediri Ena-Laqui, or rushed just their front four, making Hall’s life extremely difficult.
Bateman’s defense did a masterful job themselves, throwing off Jacob Cusker and the Centaur’s aerial attack. Playing aggressive press coverages, Bateman was able to affect the timing between Cusker and his receivers just enough on critical downs to get off the field.
Both teams headed to the locker room with the score 6-0 Centaurs. It was time for both offensive staff’s to make some adjustments to get their respective units going, which they most certainly did.
Having first possession of the second half, it was ground and pound time for the Centaurs. An offense that threw the ball around the yard last week completely changed their mentality.
Running back Jasper Baron and the Centaur’s o-line grinded out a physical drive. Taking the ball all the way downfield, one carry at a time. Baron finally punched it in from ten yards out, and after Cusker threw a perfect pass on a slant for a two-point conversion, it was 14-0 Centaurs.
With the ball back in Bateman’s hands, it was apparent they had made some adjustments of their own. Struggling to run the ball inside, Bateman started attacking the edges of the Centaur’s defense using jet sweeps and screen passes.
Not only was that working to move the ball, but the threat of those plays slowed down the pass rush of the Centaurs and finally gave Hall time to get the ball out in rhythm.
Hall had some impressive completions in tight windows and had Bateman at the 5-yard line poised to get to within just one score. Hall completed another wide receiver screen on the left side of the field. As his receiver cut inside and reached out to the endzone at about the one-yard line, the ball was knocked loose. The Centaurs fell on it and regained possession.
Bateman was inches away from cutting the lead to seven but had nothing to show for it. The Centaurs got the ball roughly midfield before punting the ball back to Bateman, flipping field position in the process.
The game appeared to be over after a stalled drive by Bateman and another touchdown for Baron and the Centaurs in the fourth quarter. Hall and stud receiver Dante Meyer said not so fast.
Hall dropped back to pass, rolled to his left, and hit Meyer on a wheel route. Meyer broke a tackle and took it to the house for a sixty-yard score. Just like that, there was life.
After forcing a Centaurs three and out, Bateman regained possession. Hall first threw a beautiful pass on a skinny post route to receiver Logan Grozell for a big gain. After hitting multiple targets to get Bateman downfield, he hit running back Jackson Kliewer on a screen pass, and the Timberwolves were within a score.
After a last-ditch desperation onside kick failed, time ran out, and the Centaurs held on for a 21-13 win.
Centaurs head coach Dino Geremia was very pleased with his defense’s play led by linebacker Harry Lobay, who had six tackles on the day, a sack, and a knockdown. The Centaurs will travel to Mt. Baker, Washington, next week for a matchup south of the border.
Bateman will look to rebound from a devastating loss when they host an undefeated Lord Tweedsmuir team next Friday.
And they can pass!! Hyacks dominate Panthers
Last week, I talked about how the New Westminster Hyacks were using an old-school approach, bringing the fullback back to relevancy, pounding the rock inside, and putting up loads of points in the process. Well, this week, the Hyacks had a similar scoreline in a 49-0 win against the Abbotsford Panthers, but they put up the majority of their 450 offensive yards through the air instead.
Don’t get it twisted. The Hyacks can still pound the rock at will, finishing with 200 yards on the ground tonight. The Hyacks coaching staff knows they need to be able to execute the passing game at a high level as well.
“We had some huge plays in the run game last week but missed on a few opportunities in the passing game, so that was a point of emphasis this week,” said offensive coordinator Darnell Sikorski.
That emphasis lead to 250 yards through the air for the Hyacks. Quarterbacks Antonio Hageleit and Gavin Rai were able to distribute the ball around to their playmakers. “Both QBs threw the ball very effectively, especially Antonio Hageleit. We have some solid weapons outside for them to throw to,” stated Sikorski.
One of those weapons is star wideout Benny Hageleit. He showed precisely why he’s regarded as one of the best receivers in the province, reeling in 3 touchdown passes for 150 yards on the night. Sikorski raved about his star: “Hageleit has some of the best hands of any receiver I’ve ever coached and he made some great plays tonight”
The Hyacks defense is also playing lights out. In the unit’s second straight shutout, linebacker Julian McFadden, defensive lineman Alex Dall, and safety Kai Stewardson flew around the field, making plays all night long.
Abbotsford had some success moving the ball. However, when it mattered most, the Hyacks made stops defensively, including in the final seconds of the 2nd quarter, as Abby had the ball in the red zone.
“Our defense is playing great football right now. We are playing with a high motor, intensity, and speed. Abbotsford’s QB and RB presented some challenges and are quality football players, but two straight games with zero points by our defense is a great start for us.” Head Coach Andrew McKechnie said, commending his defensive unit.
The Hyacks staff is already thinking about next week’s massive matchup against Notre Dame. “Notre Dame is so well coached and they are a very good football team. They are aggressive defensively and they will present challenges offensively with motions and putting their best players in positions to be successful. This will be our first four quarter game of the year and we will need to be ready for that challenge.” regarded McKechnie.
The Hyacks will be back in their stadium next Friday for that pivotal game. Kickoff is at 7:30.
The W.J. Mouat Hawks are so back
The W.J. Mouat Hawks are quietly establishing themselves as one of the best teams in the province. Their balanced spread offense and physical 3-4 defense were on full display as they defeated the Mt. Douglas Rams on the road 42-6.
Watching the Hawks’ offense, the first you’ll notice is Hawks stud running back Joel Mueller, who finished the day with 15 Carries for 115 yards and three total touchdowns. As Mueller weaves his way through defenders, picking up chunk plays, he follows his very physical, versatile offensive line.
The versatility of that o-line was shown early and often on Friday. Mauling the Ram’s defensive line on zone schemes or pulling into space and leading the way for Mueller on counter runs. In pass protection, a brick wall was formed around quarterback Elijah Black, allowing him plenty of time to deliver the ball to his receivers.
Black showed his gratitude to the big guys up front, going 11-16 for 127 yards and two touchdowns despite the pouring rain all afternoon. Black is a joy to watch himself. He’s capable of throwing the ball on time and in rhythm to his targets, but when things break down, he’ll calmy escape pressure, keep his eyes downfield, and deliver the ball on the money to his open playmakers.
Defensively for the Hawks, their three defensive linemen eat up blocks and let their linebackers flow freely to the ball. The Rams couldn’t get their run game as they continually struggled to get any movement on the Hawk’s front.
When the Rams finally started to find some momentum at the end of the half, down 21-0, it was time for the Hawk’s secondary to show their playmaking abilities.
As the Rams dropped back to pass and let the ball go into the endzone, Max Pratt had the ball fall right into his hands for an interception. Not satisfied with just a pick, Pratt made a house call, taking the ball back 100 yards, and it was 28-0 at the half.
The Hawks put up a couple more scores before Mount Douglas got on the board late. As the final whistle was blown, the scoreboard read Hawks 42, Rams 6.
Defensive Coordinator Daniel Mills liked his unit’s effort. ” I was happy with how our defense played today. That was a big, tough physical team that we went up against, and we proved that we were up for the challenge.”
The Hawks will head home and prepare for next Friday night’s matchup against the Terry Fox Ravens. The Ram’s will look to regroup for their upcoming matchup with Ballenas.
Eagles Grounded in Yakima
The Carson Graham Eagles headed south of the border to Yakima, Washington, taking on the 4A Eisenhower Cadets in Friday Night Lights action. In a tightly contested battle, the Cadets slowed down the Eagle’s air raid attack in a 19-14 victory.
The Eagles struggled early and were down 13-0 in the second quarter. The Cadet’s defense disrupted the Eagle’s timing and rhythm early and often moved their front post-snap and sent creative pressures with cleverly disguised zone coverages behind them.
The Eagle’s usually explosive attack finally found their rhythm midway through the second quarter. Quarterback Jack Shih capped off a long drive with a 4-yard run to make it 13-6 at the half.
The Eagles’ defense stepped up early and often Friday night. In the second half, trailing 19-6, a goal-line stand followed by an interception by Connor Henry on consecutive drives kept the Eagle’s chances alive.
The Eagle’s offense paid back their defense’s tremendous effort with their best offensive drive of the game. A long 10-play 95-yard drive had the Eagles within one score.
Grade 10 receiver Henry Ryan played an instrumental part in the drive. Ryan had four crucial grabs, an eight-yard touchdown, and the ensuing 2-point-convert to cap off the drive.
With a score of 19-14 Cadets and a score of 1:30 left in the game, the Eagle’s last hope was to recover an onside kick. The ensuing onside kick bounced around and fell right into an Eagles player’s hands. Unfortunately for Carson Graham, a player was offside, and the recovery was nullified.
The second attempt was scooped up by the Cadets, and the game was all but over. 19-14 Cadets was the final.
A great defensive effort from the Eagles was led by Kaon Kang with 5 Tackles, Celyan Vermeulen, who finished with 8 Tackles, and Griffin Runnels, who had 7 Tackles, two of those for a loss of yards.
The Carson Graham Football program would like to thank the Eisenhower Cadets for the competitive game and their Boosters for feeding the players and coaches afterward.
Carson is at home next week when they take on the Windsor Dukes.
To go, or to not go for two
The South Delta Sun Devils have one of the most exciting quarterbacks in all of high school football, Damian Dumas. Dumas not only excited fans, he played a huge part in the Sun Devils 21-20 victory over The Terry Fox Ravens on Saturday.
Dumas is the definition of a dual-threat quarterback. He can sit in the pocket and deliver the ball to his targets as he did on the game-opening touchdown, but his ability to run makes him truly special.
Dumas looked like the most explosive runner on the field yesterday. He showcased that explosiveness when he got to the edge of the defense and sprinted down the sideline, leaving defenders who seemingly had a good angle on him in his dust for a 50-yard score.
That long run was just one of Dumas’s three scores—two on the ground and one through the air. Those three touchdowns had South Delta up 21-6 at halftime.
The Ravens desperately needed a shift in momentum. That shift would happen at the second half’s opening kickoff. As the Sun Devils Kicked off to start the final half, the ball fell into the waiting arms of Woody MacRae.
The Raven’s return man took off along the right hash marks, found the seam in the Sun Devils cover team, and hit the gas for an 85-yard score, cutting the lead to 21-14.
Late in the game, the Ravens had one more chance to even things up. Raven’s quarterback Zac Golab led the Ravens downfield, completing passes to multiple targets. After the Ravens capped the long scoring drive by punching the ball in from ten yards out, it was decision time.
Do you kick the extra point and head to overtime? Or do you go for the two-point conversion and win the game on this play? The Ravens chose the ladder and rolled the dice.
The Ravens emptied out the backfield for Golab. He sent a receiver in motion from left to right as the ball was snapped. The Ravens had the perfect pick play called as it appeared one of the team’s receivers was wide open in the front corner of the endzone. Golab let go of the ball on time, but much to his dismay, a Sun Devils defender fought over the pick and dove as the pass was released, getting his hand on the ball in the process. Incomplete pass. Sun Devils win 21-20
The Ravens will try to get over this heartbreaking defeat and move their attention to getting ready for next week’s game against W.J. Mouat.
The Sun Devils will be on the road when they take on the Seaquam Seahawks under the lights next Friday.
Maroons win big despite slow start
Sometimes, it’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. That saying was ever so true in the Clarence Fulton Maroon’s 41 -6 victory against the Shas Ti Kelly Road Grizzlies.
The score may look one sided but that doesn’t tell the full story. Maroon’s head coach, Mike SCheller was not impressed with his offenses play early on.
“Our offense did not play well for most of the first half. We had some penalties, and some dropped passes that cost us. We lacked a killer instinct in the first half offensively when our defense put us in a great position.”
Luckily for the Maroons, football is a team game. While their offense struggled, the team’s defense was able to pick up the slack.
“I was super happy with the way our defense played. With the exception of the first drive, our defense was the difference in the game. WE put their offense under a lot of pressure with 3 sacks. WE created 6 turnovers, 3 picks and 3 fumbles which put our offense in great field position. I liked the way our defense hustled and gang tackled.” Said SChellar.
Midway through the second quarter, The Maroons finally got it going. Sparked by running back Caden O’dwyer’s tough running and the right arm of quarterback Gabe Adam. The team was able to rebound from that slow start and take a 21-0 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Maroon’s killer instinct finally kicked in, as they put away the Grizzlies for good in a 41-6 victory. O’Dwyer finished the day with ten carries for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Adam completed 11-16 for 137 yards and two scores of his own as the dynamic duo was on full display.
“Coach SChellar was very impressed with his stars. I thought Gabe Adam at QB had a great game. He moved well in the pocket and read the defense well. He threw some nice shots. O’Dwyer ran hard and had a couple of great long runs.”
Even better, there was a big man touchdown! With the ball inside the five-yard line, the Marrons handed the ball to left tackle Ammo Mann, who rumbled in for a three-yard score.
When Mann wasn’t living every offensive lineman dream, he was busy paving the way for O’Dwyer and keeping Adam upright in the pocket.
Mann wasn’t the only lineman that impressed. The Maroon’s staff liked the play of both center Jacob Glover and guard Rylan Stadnyk.
SChellar spoke very highly of his defensive unit, which allowed their offense the time to figure things out. “The defense was great. Noah McINtyre was a force at the defensive tackle. CB Caleb Buffie had two nice picks and was solid all day in coverage. Logan Keetley and Max Hammell both had solid second halves for us defensively.”
Fulton is now 2-0 on the season and begins preparations for a big game vs. Westsyde on September 20th at 7 pm.
Knights cap successful homecoming with big win vs Crusaders
Ah, homecoming. No one ever forgets the packed crowd, the pregame festivities, or, in St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights’ case, their 21-12 victory over The Holy Cross Crusaders.
In what is starting to be a rebirth of an old Catholic School rivalry from the eighties and nineties, the two teams played in front of a packed crowd of over a thousand people on STM’s campus.
The Knights’ Triple option attack scored first on just their second offensive play of the game. Steven Nicklin burst through the middle of the defense on a dive for a 44 yard touchdown run.
Early in the second quarter, Grade ten pivot Patricio Leon kept the ball on a Triple Option run and broke a 50-yard scamper for the score. Only in grade ten, Leon is doing a masterful job running the Knight’s option attack.
The triple option requires quarterbacks to make fast, decisive decisions at full speed. For a grade ten to be running the scheme at the varsity level and excelling in it is a big deal.
The Knights have a luxury: they have two capable quarterbacks. Not only do they have Leon, but quarterback Nico Pallares can also make big plays for the team.
He showed that playmaking ability on the opening drive of the 2nd half, throwing an absolute dime down the right sideline for a 46-yard score to wideout Kareem Mohammed.
Holy Cross would adjust and score the next two majors with tight end Paulo Emata and QB Xander McCrone finding the endzone. Unfortunately, the Crusaders ran out of time, and the Knights were able to hold on for a 21-12 homecoming victory.
Knights head coach Jared Power was happy not only with his team’s effort but homecoming as a whole.
“Today was a great event. The community was out in full force. We had a Volleyball game earlier, the Pep Band was going all day and our boys put on a good show for their community. I liked the way our Offensive Line controlled the line of scrimmage and loved the mentality of our guys constantly looking to build each other up throughout the game. We have lots to clean up as a team, but today was definitely a step in the right direction.”
Standouts for the Knights included Steven Nicklin with 83 yards rushing and a touchdown on Offense, as well as 7 tackles and one sack on defense.
Nico Pallares was dangerous all day running and passing as a quarterback and had 5 tackles and one interception on defense.
Alex Jaspar was a force at center and Defensive line, making 4 tackles (3 for a loss).
The Knights hope to take the momentum of this win to their matchup next Friday against the Kelowna Owls.
For the Crusaders, head coach Conrad Deugau was happy with his team’s effort but knew they needed to get going earlier in the game.
“It was a tale of 2 halves. They beat us in the first half and we were the better team in the second half. Unfortunately, that first half was the big difference-maker. STM is a well-coached team, and they had a good game plan. We fought hard, and I’m proud of my kids.”
The Crusaders will look to earn their first victory of the year next week against the Sullivan Heights Stars.
