Welcome to The Province’s first week of high school sports coverage.
You guessed it, Edition 1 of our weekly B.C. High School Football report.
A very limited ‘Week 0′ schedule kicked off Friday night, largely south of the line, and B.C.’s top three-ranked Triple A teams all spoiled their hosts’ home openers. Here’s a look:
MT. DOUGLAS 38 at JUNCTION CITY (ORE.) 6
JUNCTION CITY (ORE.) – All the preseason hype about Rams’ tailback Mason Swift? Believe it.
The Subway Bowl MVP was in fine form for the defending B.C. champs from Victoria, rushing for 160 yards and three touchdowns as Mt. Douglas built an early lead and easily dispatched its 4A foe.
For head coach Mark Townsend, it was a vindication of the kind of mentally-tough squad he is guiding this season.
On its Thursday trip to the school just outside Eugene, the team’s bus twice broke down in Washington. The second breakdown was enough that the Rams had to abandon the bus and have its entire team take taxis to the nearest hotel. On Friday, a bus was dispatched from Portland to get the team to Junction City, where they arrived in time for the contest.
“It was a great effort and we were really happy with the competitive nature of our kids,” remarked Townsend. “They rolled with the punches, fought a little bit of adversity, got there in time for the game and came out with a great effort.”
The Rams, on the strength of a 10-yard Swift run and a 41-yard hook-up between quarterback Ashton MacKinnon and RB/WR Marcus Davis, took a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.
Davis, the younger brother of recently-graduated star tailback Terrell Davis, added another major on a 24-yard run in the second quarter, and Swift followed with a one-yard major. Kicker Callum Duke added a 25-yard field goal to put the Rams ahead 31-0 at the half.
Junction City was able to break their silence with an unconverted touchdown in the third quarter, but Mt, Douglas quickly got those points back when Swift scored his third touchdown of the contest later in the frame on a 13-yard run converted by Duke.
MacKinnon finished 9-of-16 for 120 yards, while James Nicholas managed a pair of fumble recoveries for the winners. Brian Dowds, Davis and Julian Louis each came away with interceptions. Trevor Ridley led the tacklers from his linebacking spot.
W.J. MOUAT 42 at ELIMRA (ORE.) 18
ELMIRA (ORE.) — Maleek Irons was flat-out impossible to stop on Friday night.
The star tailback with the No. 2-ranked W.J. Mouat Hawks of Abbotsford rushed for three touchdowns as part of a decisive win over the host 4A Falcons.
“We got a great defensive effort,” admitted Hawks’ head coach Denis Kelly, whose Subway Bowl finalist Hawks were pitching a first-half shutout with a 20-0 lead.
And behind a veteran offensive line, the Hawks cleared a path for Irons to score majors on scampers of six, four and 35 yards. Irons finished the night with 20 points, adding a two-point rushing convert.
Running back Clovis Lumeka, quarterback Mario Norte and running back Crysthian Rivas scored on respective runs of eight, six and five yards for Mouat, while kicker Matt Riley added four extra points.
Elmira opened its scoring by returning the second-half kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. Sheriden Lawley up front and Taylor Hinton from his spot at middle linebacker, led the Mouat defence.
VANCOUVER COLLEGE 28 RAINIER BEACH (WASH.) 26
SEATTLE — Quarterback Andrew Ker tossed a touchdown pass and rushed for another, while running back Liam Mahara broke the 100-yard mark as the No. 3-ranked Fighting Irish topped the 3A Metro Conference’s Vikings.
Ker’s four-yard scoring ross to Andrew Pauls in the first quarter was the Irish’s lone first-half scoring play. In the third quarter, however, Mahara and Ker each took turns going in from a one-yard out, and in the fourth quarter Matt McIntyre scored the winning touchdown from nine yards.
A furious rally by the Vikes saw them score three touchdowns over the final 10 minutes of play, but a two-point convert that would have tied the game with no time left failed.
NOTRE DAME 21 at FERNDALE (WASH.) 49
FERNDALE (WASH.) — The host Golden Eagles may not be starting Jake Locker at quarterback these days, but Ferndale hardly skipped a beat, showcasing a dangerous running game led by Alex Conley, in a decisive 28-point win over East Vancouver’s honourable-mention Jugglers.
Conley carried just 14 times for 175 yards and five touchdowns, scoring his team’s first three touchdowns, all in the first half, on runs of three, six and three yards.
Ferndale led 28-0 in the second half before Notre Dame quarterback Daniel Spagnuolo connected with Anthony Quatrano on a 64-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, the longest scoring play of the contest. Conley, however, responded with TD runs of 14 and 50 yards before the quarter was done.
Khyn Sarmiento on a six-yard run and Mike Aranzaso’s 35-yard TD catch from Spagnuolo helped Notre Dame finish the game strong.
That said, Notre Dame head coach Richard Scott said that his team had to get back to the fundamentals in advance of its test in California this coming weekend against Segerstrom.
“They key was out team’s inability to tackle,” said Scott. “And it just so happens to be a large part of the game.”
Spagnuolo finished the game a tidy 7-of-12 for 146 yards and two scores. However the big difference in rushing yardage was apparent. Ferndale carried 45 times for 389 yards, the Jugglers 24 times for 61 yards. Aranzaso led the Notre Dame ground game with 56 yards on 16 carries.
NEW WESTMINSTER 16 at BLAINE (WASH.) 50
BLAINE (WASH.) — Mario Gobbato and the go-go Blaine Borderites rushed and rolled to a solid win over the visiting New West Hyacks.
The senior tailback Gobbato carried 15 times for 217 yards and five majors as the Borderites scored all 50 of their points in the first half. Gobbato’s scoring runs came from 40, 28, five, five and 28 yards. Teammate Isaiah Jackson added another from 45 yards.
New Westminster’s points came over the final two quarters. Aldrin Asuncion with a five-yard run in the third quarter, and James Nicolas with an 18-yard run in the fourth, each scored TDs, both of which were capped with successful two-point converts.
On the game, Gobbato accounted for all but 86 of his team’s rushing yards.
Julian Ramirez led the Hyacks with five carries for 52 yards, while Asuncion carried 11 times for 19 yards.
“We had played them in a real competitive spring game, so it was an environment that we weren’t unfamiliar with,” said New Westminster head coach Farhan Lalji. “But the bottom line is we started poorly and got rattled. Their tailback is legit and they are very good up front. That is a good team that is going to make a lot of noise in its league.”
IN OTHER NEWS:
*The Okanagan’s Salmon Arm Golds lost 54-8 at home on Friday in Tacoma’s 3A Fife.
*Port Coquitlam’s No. 5-ranked Terry Fox Ravens travelled to Ottawa and topped the St. Mark’s Lions 42-7 in a controlled scrimmage on Friday.
Ravens’ pivot Trevor Casey threw four touchdown passes in the contest, two to Brad Lyons and one apiece to Kyle Miller and Nick Agnoletto. Casey, who last March helped lead the Ravens to the B.C. Triple A hoop title, added two other majors via the ground.
Lyons, Miller, Mike West, Jordan Seney, and Griffin Medwid all shone defensively.
The Ravens play at Blaine on Friday.
*Abbotsford’s No. 5-ranked Robert Bateman Timberwolves were forced to cancel their Friday game at Washington’s Class 2A No. 1-ranked Lynden. The host Lions scrambled to find a replacement and got all they could handle from the state’s No. 1-ranked 1A school. King’s High beat Lynden’s Lions 42-39.
