Saturday’s schedule was small and full scores not available. Here is what we have as of midnight:
DUCHESS PARK at JOHN BARSBY
A solid defensive effort helped lead Nanaimo’s No. 2-ranked John Barsby’s Bulldogs to lopsided win over the host Duchess Park Condors of Prince George.
The Bulldogs put up 622 yards of offence on the day, including 400 yards along the ground.
Brandon Parker led the winners with five carries for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Parker scored on runs of 51 and 70 yards. Tyler Harvey also rushed for a pair of scores, while North Rainey and Kyle Vollet were also among those scoring along the ground.
Kalvin Kellock caught touchdown passes from quarterbacks Brody Taylor and Rainey. Vollet and Cole Virtanen opened the third quarter scoring on back-to-back kick-off and punt returns.
“We got a great defensive effort today,” said Barsby head coach Rob Stevenson.
G.W. GRAHAM 0 at COLTON (Ore.) 21
COLTON , ORE. — Game details not available
KELOWNA at HARRY AINLAY (Edm)
EDMONTON — Game score/details not available
Welcome to the late nite, final Friday edition of the The Province’s first B.C. High School Football Report of the season.
If you’ve been checking back throughout the evening, some earlier postings have been updated with additonal information. We’ll be back tomorrow with more from Saturday’s abbreviated schedule.
WEEK 0 SCOREBOARD
FRIDAY
Aldine-Davis (Texas) 56 Hugh Boyd 0
WJ Mouat 37 Salisbury Composite (Edm) 25
Carson Graham 48 Riddle (Ore.) 14
St. Thomas More 43 Holy Cross 0
Ballenas 51 Spectrum 0
Mission 41 Nanaimo District 7
Seaquam 22 Valleyview 16
Rick Hansen 33 Windsor 6
THURSDAY
New Westminster 20 South Delta 16
ALDINE-DAVIS (TEXAS) 56 HUGH BOYD 0
HOUSTON — It wasn’t close, but it was also an experience Hugh Boyd Trojans head coach Bill Haddow says he wouldn’t trade for the world.
“Too big, too fast, too athletic for us,” Haddow said after the contest. “Texas football is all it is cracked up to be. One hundred degrees at 7 p.m. kick-off, not what we are used to, or will ever be used to. Our kids played hard but were over-matched across the board.”
Yaseen El-Massry played well at defensive tackle for the Trojans, Adam Schuck played the entire game at centre and linebacker despite the hot and humid conditions, and Grade 10 Gabe Saklofsky played a solid game in the secondary.
“Despite the score it was a heck of an experience,” added Haddow, whose team will watch Texas A&M face Rice on Saturday. “Friday night lights in Texas? It doesn’t get any better than that for high school football. Our kids will remember it for the rest of their lives. And it will help us be a better team in the long run, playing competition like that.”
W.J. MOUAT 37 vs. SALISBURY COMPOSITE (EDM) 25
FEDERAL WAY, WASH — Sherwood Park, Alta.’s Salisbury Composite Sabres may well have known all about the abilities and accomplishments of star W.J. Mouat Hawks’ running back Maleek Irons.
Chances are that when they return home to Alberta, Sal Comp’s players will be speaking just as highly of Hawks’ tight end Jake Firlotte.
With leg cramps cramping his style throughout the first half, B.C. single-season rushing leader Irons played just over one quarter before being told by coaches he wouldn’t be returning.
In his stead, Firlotte stepped into the fore with B.C.’s No. 4-ranked Triple A team, catching three touchdown passes and coming up with two interceptions on the defensive side of the ball as the Hawks, who led just 21-19 in the third quarter, scored two touchdowns and added a safety to pull away for the victory. Firlotte finished with five catches for 124 yards.
Salisbury Composite had originally scheduled a Washignton-based foe, but when the state’s athletic association decided its start date would be next week, Mouat accepted the offer to face the Sabres in an all-Canadian matchup played under US rules.
“We were a little ragged offensively, and a couple of the kids got banged up,” said Mouat head coach Denis Kelly after the game. “But they definitely knew all about Maleek. They really stacked their defence to stop him, but we were still able to execute.”
So talented is Irons that despite playing just over one quarter, he was still able to blow past the 100-yard rushing mark, scoring on a 24-yard run to cap Mouat’s first offensive drive of the game. Irons, in limited duty, rushed 15 times for 161 yards. Jacob Dodd, who filled in the rest of the way, rushed 15 times for 139 yards, including a 52-yard scamper.
Mouat got solid pivot play from both its quarterbacks.
Starter Hunter Struthers fired TD strikes of 25 and 50 yards to Firlotte, and also went 75 yards for the major score to Slater McRae. He finished 6-of-15 for 175 yards. Backup Noah Falconer then came in, firing a 30-yard scoring strike in the third quarter to Firlotte. Adam Coates was a perfect 5-for-5 in extra-point attempts.
Defensively, middle linebacker Manpreet Chhina led the winners with nine tackles. Kieran Testa added eight tackles and Clovis Lumeka another six.
Mouat never trailed, despite the fact the Sabres twice crept within a field goal at 14-13 and 21-19. The Hawks led 21-13 at halftime.
CARSON GRAHAM 48 at RIDDLE (ORE.) 14
RIDDLE (ORE.) — Halfback A.J. Blackwell’s 12-yard scoring run on the Carson Graham Eagles’ opening possession of the game set the tone for a night of offensive fireworks.
North Vancouver’s Eagles, ranked No. 5 to start the B.C. Double A football season, rolled to a 34-point win Friday night over its hosts, located 90 minutes south of Eugene.
“We moved the ball really well,” Eagles head coach John Buchan said from the game site after the victory. “They were a pretty small team and it seemed like we could move the ball at will. It was very impressive.”
The Eagles passed for four scores on the night, but full game stats were unavailable.
NANAIMO DISTRICT 7 at MISSION 41(updates Nanaimo District stats)
MISSION — Last season, when starting quarterback Kevin Wiens went down with an injury, Evan Horton stepped in and looked at home.
This season, with Wiens starting his collegiate career at UBC, there is no doubting the credentials of the guy stepping up to take the snaps under centre.
Horton went 6-of-8 for 162 yards, throwing touchdown strikes to slotbacks Jesse Walker and Wade Carpenter in leading the 2012 provincial finalist Mission Roadrunners to a 41-7 win over the Nanaimo District Islanders.
Last season, when Wiens returned to the lineup, Horton moved to a running back position. On Friday, he called his own number with authority, rushing eight times for 122 yards and two more scores.
Dayton Roberts rushed six times for 62 yards as the Roadrunners built a 28-0 halftime lead.
“Our guys put in their time in the weight room over the off-season,” explained Mission coach Danny Jakobs. “They showed today that they can really run the ball. We’re building a culture of football now at our school and that is a great thing to see.”
Carpenter’s only catch of the day went for a 62-yard score, while walker caught three balls for 92 yards and a score. He also carried three times for 68 yards and a score.
Mission heads stateside next week, playing at Cedar Park, Wash., this coming Friday.
The Islanders were in tough against a veteran Mission team.
Yet halfback Jeremie Cheng carried nine times for 102 yards and scored on a 48-yard run as NDSS totaled 189 yards in offence.
Cheng and fellow linebacker Brennan Mattes put up solid numbers, with Mattes recording 10 tackles and Cheng six tackles to go along with two fumble recoveries.
“Our offence was absolutely demolished and dismantled by the Roadrunners,” said NDSS head coach Nate Stevenson. “We knew coming in it was going to be a tough task to slow that crew down. We wanted to focus on small, specific goals but we were unable to reach those as well.
“For a Week 0 contest, I felt we were able to learn more about ourselves, to use this game as a gauge and keep working to improve for the rest of the season.”
WEST VANCOUVER at HANDSWORTH (controlled scrimmage)
NORTH VANCOUVER — No score kept here, but noteworthy in that the visiting Highlanders visit cross-zone rival Royals just as Handsworth makes its move back to the Triple A ranks. Three 15-minute sessions on offence and defence here.
Said Highlanders head coach Shawn Anderson, whose team took about 50 offensive snaps on the afternoon:
On the offence:
“Grade 11 QB Finn Morales was efficient in his first contest in our pass-happy offense. Morales went 15-for-23 for 216 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs. Finn did a great job of distributing the ball to all receivers as the leading receiver Bjorn Knutson had only three receptions for 58 yards and 1 TD. Bjorn, who played right guard for the Highlanders last year is one of 4 lineman from last season who will be playing both line and back/receiver positions. Leading the charge on the ground was Anthony Oswald with 8 rushes for 76 yards and 1 TD. Anthony also play Offensive line last year for the Highlanders. I think our managers did more work than I did today changing the jerseys number so often.”
On the defence:
“We played tough. With few days to prep for the Handsworth offense, we kept thing pretty simple. Anthony Oswald took over where his brother James left off last year with 10 tackles to lead all Highlanders. I saw some good things and some opportunities for us on defense. We had a few nice surprises with great play from Max Lepur at Defensive tackle and Devon Anderson at outside linebacker.”
Added Anderson: “What I learned about our team today, this is a team that understand we will need to all pull in the same direction in order to compete this year. There are no superstars but a bunch of good athletes who will work and play hard with in our system.”
On the opposition:
“What I learned about Handsworth…They are always well prepared and today was no different. Coach Prepchuk has some early wrinkles in already and it make is challenging for our defense. Their tall receivers challenged our defensive backs and really gave us trouble. Defensively, there were excited to play and there was lots of hard hits throughout the game. I never really look forward to one game more than the next in a season, but after today I think the Handsworth game in October will be a fun one. Both programs have some great athletes but are low on numbers. I think it will be fun.”
ST. THOMAS MORE 43 at HOLY CROSS 0
SURREY — The relentless snap attack of the St. Thomas More Knights showed itself worthy of the team’s speed and skill on Friday.
The Triple A No. 3-ranked Knights put their no-huddle, fast-tempo offence to the test in Surrey for the 26th annual Pepsi Bowl against traditional rival and host Holy Cross, and it proved to be an early success in a 43-0 shutout win over the Crusaders.
“It was still a good first game,” said STM head coach Bernie Kully, who watched as quarterback Chase Malcolm threw four towuchdown passes. “Our offense was able to run a fast-paced, no-huddle attack. (Offensive coordinator) Joe Adams has done a very meticulous job of implementing a very innovative offense. It’s something that we’ve worked on as a team and Joe has done an awesome job in getting our kids ready to make things happen. We feel that we have an outstanding group of athletes and the best way to utilize their strengths is to put the petal to the medal and run a no huddle offense in which we snap the ball as quickly as possible.”
Tons of touches, and on the day, five different Knights found the end zone as STM made the most of the short fields afforded them by a Crusaders’ team that struggled on special teams.
Proof of that came as Malcolm threw for only 73 yards, tossing two TD passes to Malcolm Lee and one apiece to Matt Duda and Nick Landolt. Jordan Mackenzie and Noah Usherwood rushed for scores, the duo combining for 138 rushing yards. Mackenzie carried just twice for 85 yards, the majority coming on an 83-yard run.
Kevin Marshall, Usherwood and Andrew Flett all finished with five tackles.
The win improved STM’s record in the rivalry to 23-3.
“This game has been played for 26 years and both school communities really embrace it,” said Kully. “Even though school has not even started you would never know it with the amount of people at today’s game.”
SPECTRUM 0 at BALLENAS 51
PARKSVILLE — Host Ballenas put eight majors up on the scoreboard Friday, opening its non-conference schedule with a 51-0 shutout of first-year varsity program Spectrum.
Thomas Franks carried 12 times for 137 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the victory as the Whalers faced a game but inexperienced group from Victoria.
“Spectrum is a pretty young team but they have good numbers and played with heart,” commented Whalers head coach Jeremy Conn. “They played tough and once they get more experienced under Coach Vollinger they should be able to give most teams a run for their money.”
Ballenas fullback Coltin Laplante had three carries for 34 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Garrin McDonnell also ran for a TD off a sneak. McDonnell also connected with Laplante on a 30-yard scoring pass. A.J. Messner had a 12-yard TD run and Tyson Low scored on a plunge from one yard out. Brandon German added a sack for a safety. McDonnell went 7-for-7 on extra-point attempts.
On defense the Whalers pitched a shut out led by Coltin Laplante’s eight tackles and four from Thomas Franks.
“I was happy with our performance,” said Conn. “Everyone had a chance to get significant playing time and many of our guys really stepped up. That said, we took too many penalties and had too many mis-tackles. We need to keep working on the fundamentals. But a win is a win, so we will enjoy it and then get ready for Hugh Boyd.”
The Whalers travel to Richmond next week to play the Trojans at Hugh Boyd this coming Friday.
SEAQUAM 22 at VALLEYVIEW 16 (updates with Valleyview scoring)
KAMLOOPS — Jerry Mulliss wanted a win, but more than anything, he wanted to make sure he and his coaching staff got the best possible look at the talent on the 2013 Seaquam Seahawks.
With all 32 players on the roster of the North Delta-based team hitting the field Friday, the honourable mention Seahawks put three majors on the board to top the host Vikings on Friday afternoon.
“We feel great right now,” Mulliss explained after the contest. “We played everybody. The whole concept was to have a team-building experience so we got to town a day early. We wanted to win, but we wanted to play everyone to help us win.”
Seaquam, 14-6 leaders at the half, got touchdowns along the ground from Joss Yanciw (five yards) and Sam Orlick (eight yards). Yanciw converted his own score when he found tight end Sam Ross with a two-point convert pass.
In the second half, Grade 10 running back Masaki Kawanami scored the winning touchdown on a 45-yard run, with Jayden Mah rushing for the two-point convert.
Defensive ends Cory Hudson and Trevor Hoff, as well as Grade 10 linebacker Nick Hutchison, were among a group of Seahawks putting forth encouraging performances on defence.
“For us it was definitely an early-season game,” said Valleyview coach Brad Yamaoka. “Offensively we had some turnovers that hurt us and killed any momentum we had built up. ”
After a slow start, Vikings’ quarterback Lliam Wishart had a solid day, making some big plays when things started to sideways. Wishart went 15 yards to Alex Beckett for the team’s first score, then called his own number from five yards out for a TD, later running in the two-point convert.
RICK HANSEN 33 at WINDSOR 6 (updates Hansen stats)
NORTH VANCOUVER — The Rick Hansen Hurricanes have stormed to victory in its season opener.
Abbotsford’s Canes scored on its first three possesions Friday in North Vancouver, eventually building a 33-0 lead before finishing with a 33-6 win over the host Windsor Dukes.
“Offensively, we were able to move the ball efficiently,” admitted Hurricanes head coach Paul Gill. “For it being this early in the season, our offensive line played very well. They protected (quarterback) Alex (Ho) all day, and they opened up holes for our backs.”
Ho was deadly on Friday, going 12-of-17 for 302 yards and four TDs, and also rushed for a four-yard major.
Zach Toews caught three touchdown passes from Ho on the day, scoring from 40, 35 and 61 yards out, finishing his day with six grabs for 161 yards.
Prem Singh also caught a 45-yard TD pass, while Ho rushed for a score from seven yards. Brad Atkinson had four catches for 66 yards.
Devin DaCosta rushed nine times for 49 yards for Rick Hansen, but it was the aerial attack that carried the day, accounting for 317 of the team’s 418 total yards.
Brandon Ho had seven tackles from his linebacking spot, including two for a loss. Shaiheem Charles-Brown had a strong game making plays in the Dukes’ backfield and also finished with seven stops and a fumble recovery. Toews added five tackles.
“We as a coaching are pleased with our performance but we have a long ways to go,” admitted Gill. “South Delta next week will be a great opportunity for us to use as a measuring stick to see how we match against one of the best teams in the province. We’re excited about the opportunity to play the defending (Double A) champs. We know it’s only preseason, but it should be a great contest.”
Dukes’ pivot Ty Marshall carried 11 times for 107 yards and the team’s only touchdown. Marshall also went 10-of-17 through the air, finishing with 137 yards on the day. Hunter Mason caught two passes for 64 yards, and Jordan Akelaitis four for 50 yards. Devin Perri managed 14 tackles in a losing cause along the Windsor defence.
THURSDAY
SOUTH DELTA 14 at NEW WESTMINSTER 20
NEW WESTMINSTER — In a game distinctly lacking in fireworks and just begging for a big play, Tommy Robertson decided it was up to him.
The New Westminster Hyacks senior quarterback broke free for the game’s decisive play, a 36-yard keeper late in the third quarter which led the tying score, paving the way for a 20-14 victory over the South Delta Sun Devils in the battle for the Kushnir Boot, as B.C. high school football’s 2013 season opened provincially under drizzling skies Thursday night at Mercer Stadium.
A few plays later, Robertson was able to score on a three-yard keeper. He later added the winning score in the fourth quarter on a five-yard keeper, and on the game, scored all three of his team’s majors.
“It’s important to make big plays, especially at times like that, when everybody might be on their sidelines shurgging their shoulders in a tie game,” said Robertson, who looked like a different player in the second half, lifting the confidence of his teammates with play. “When something like that happens, it can really open things up.”
Thursday’s contest was a study in contrasts.
The Sun Devils, who opened the season at No. 1 in The Province’s Big 5 Double A rankings, were playing their first game since going a perfect 12-0 en route to winning the Subway Bowl title last December.
The Hyacks, a Triple A honourable mention, had started last season 3-1, but finished 2012 by losing its last six games.
None of that was lost on Hyacks head coach Farhan Lalji.
“We’re trying to build confidence after what happened last year and it’s not just that we won, but that we trailed in the second half and found a way to make a comeback,” said Lalji. “(South Delta) did a real good job in the second and third quarter against our offence, but our guys responded and picked it up and I think we kind of wore them down in the end.”
It was a finishing kick that coach agreed came from Robertson, the 6-foot-3, 175 pound pivot who has been the team’s starter since 10th grade.
“In the firs half he just looked a little nervous, uncomfortable,” said Lalji. “But that run, the guys got really excited because we needed a run at that point. We weren’t doing things offensively. But then after that, we hit a bunch in a row and it just got him into the game and he felt better about himself. He needs that. I think he is going to have a really good year and we needed him to take a step.”
A step was about all Robertson had to take to open the scoring, going over from a yard out to propel New Westminster to a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, new South Delta starting quarterback Lucas Kirk, a fleet-footed Grade 11, found Mitch Dino on an five-yard scoring pass to tie the game 7-7. Kirk put the Sun Devils ahead 14-7 with four minutes left in the third quarter when he hit Jeremy Carmichael with an eight-yard scoring pass.
New Westminster missed the point after in its third touchdown, and that meant its defence had to come up big to prevent a potential game-winning drive which fell short as time expired.
“These kids have a lot to learn and right now they are feeling it,” South Delta head coach Ray Moon said of his team, which hadn’t lost since the end of the 2011 season. “I guess if you have take a loss, this is the time to take it. But I told them ‘Feel the sting that you are feeling right now and carry it with you for the rest of the season.'”
