Week Six In Review
 |
| It was Old School Smash Mouth Football between neighborhood rivals Nanaimo District and John Barsby Friday Night! |
This was a big week that saw a new number one emerge provincially and divisional races heat-up! The big news is my new number one. The Vernon Panthers! It has been a singular pleasure watching the rise of this program since 2011. The Panthers have compiled a series of consecutive winning seasons at JV and Varsity and each year have fielded a more complete unit than the previous season. This team/program has great depth and I believe, may be the first Interior/North team to run the table since the old Kam High Red Devils of yore. That is saying a lot, because we are talking three decades and change here!! Keep an eye on these guys, Vegas is going wild on em. Up north, the Prince George Polars set the stage for a first place showdown with divisional powerhouse Duchess Park by steamrolling to a second consecutive lopsided win over Nechako Valley. I'd love to have a seat at Masich Park to watch this one go down! Pitt Meadows, down three starters up-front, hammered its way to a 14-0 shutout of Robert Bateman. This puts the Marauders in position to challenge the resident Lords of the East Conference Mission Roadrunners for first place in that gritty division. Mission had a stellar first half vs G.W. Graham building a 26-0 lead and coasting to a 26-6 win over the Grizzlies. I now think I may have to sit back at GI's HQ and watch live drone feeds of the big game up north and this one come the weekend. The Southern Conference which looked to be a bit of a bust a short two weeks ago now has signs of fight with Hugh Boyd racking impressive wins this week and last. The Trojans have a HUGE face-off versus the Frank Hurt Hornets next week and again, time to send-up another drone to get some real-time video this tilt. Exciting as hec I say! Out West, Argyle earned itself a program milestone by defeating a varsity Windsor squad for the first time in program history. The Pipers are licking their chops for a crack at Barsby next Friday and a second big milestone. In Nanaimo, the Islanders and Bulldogs squared off in a superb, physical contest Friday night. The score was close for three quarters before roster depth and fatigue had its say. A lot of mutual respect was earned at the 2014 Ray Kocher Classic football game.
Vernon HC Coach Smith speaks with Howard Tsmurra: http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/10/16/podcast-varsity-letters-is-back-with-sfu-hoops-and-new-west-vernon-football-previews/
Week 6 Scores
Monday
Prince George 30 Correlieu 6
Friday
Vernon 53 Valleyview 7
Pitt Meadows 14 Robert Bateman 0
Argyle 21 Windsor 7
Clarence Fulton 48 Salmon Arm 22
Prince George 40 Nechako Valley 0
John Barsby 39 Nanaimo District 6
Mission 26 G.W. Graham 6
Hugh Boyd 38 Moscrop 6
Kelley Road 60 College Heights 10
Vernon 53 Valleyview 7
Abbottsford 63 Samuel Roberts 0
Saturday
Carson Graham 40 Sentinel 6
Seaquam 33 Holy Cross 25
GI's Top 5
1. Vernon Panthers
2. Mission Roadrunners
3. John Barsby Bulldogs
4. Ballenas Whalers
5. Carson Graham Eagles
Honourable Mention
Argyle Pipers, Pitt Meadows Marauders, Duchess Park Condors, Hugh Boyd Trojans, Abbottsford Panthers
GI's Picks
Tuesday
Correlieu @ Duchess Park: This game will be a great tune-up for the Condors heading into a short week of practice before the big game vs PGSS. Time to get some bugs out of the system, roll the bench good and get focused on the task ahead. GI's Pick: Black and Gold by 42
Friday
Sentinel @ Nanaimo District: I really like the match-ups here! This game should go down to the wire. Having seen both teams in action, the aerial dogfight should be reminiscent of The Battle Of Britain! On the ground it is going to be fast and furious. The Sentinel run defense is very good and it will have to be as the Islander run game is sneaky fast. GI's Pick: Islanders by 2
Pitt Meadows @ Mission: If this game could be played exclusively between the hash marks I'd call it a complete toss-up. It won't be however, and this is problematic for Pitt as they face the most dynamic player in AA Varsity play. There will be some good banging for sure and Mission will be tested physically on defense, but the Marauders will have as much chance of tracking down the Mission athlete as they would chasing a laser pointer around the field. GI's Pick: Mission by 21
Salmon Arm @ Vernon: How many consecutive weeks can Vernon hang fifty plus points on its opponent? Not sure, but add this one to the total. The Panthers are surging in every phase of the game and may kick-it into an even higher gear on Friday. GI's Pick: Vernon by 41
Earl Marriot @ Robert Bateman: The Timberwolves are looking to reclaim some lost momentum and the Mariners are just what the doctor ordered. This game will be a track-meet in an autumn setting. GI's Pick: Bateman by 30 plus
Seaquam @ Moscrop: If you are looking for some wide-open football entertainment, gaze no further than this tilt. Both teams like to open it up offensively, both have surrendered a lot of points to date, and both squads are evenly matched. Football is fun in such scenarios. GI's Pick: Moscrop by 4
Argyle@ John Barsby: This battle between undefeateds will likely be just that, a battle. Both teams are run-pass balanced and both teams play a physical brand of defense. I give the edge up front to Argyle and a small special teams edge to Barsby. Two years ago these rosters met at JV producing one of the most epic games I have ever seen. Barsby got by with some trickery against some inexperience. That inexperience no longer exists. This game will be close. GI's Pick: Barsby by 3
Kelley Road @ Nechako Valley: The Roadrunners can well, run, run, run the football. They are bigger, stronger and faster than their hosts. GI's Pick: Roadrunners by 19
Prince George @ Duchess Park: The Polars have made huge strides this year in all phases of the game. The roster is experienced and the second most physical/talented in the North Division. Problem for them is the fact that they are playing the most physical/talented group in the division. Duchess is hungry for a test and I am sure that no one on the squad is looking past cross-town rival PGSS. GI's Pick: Condors by 18
Valleyview @ Westsyde: Tough one to call. I picked against Westsyde a couple weeks back and they served me crowe on a platter. Valleyview is coming off of a nightmare game vs Vernon and is likely a bit tenderized. GI's Pick: Westsyde by 3
Abbottsford @ G.W. Graham: This is going to be fun, fun, fun and quite frankly, drone-worthy. These teams always play each other tough and a playoff seed is on the line. There are great match-ups across the board and contrasting styles of play. The fans will be out in droves and the pads a cracking. GI's Pick: Grizzlies by 2
Frank Hurt @ Hugh Boyd: This is probably the best Hugh Boyd squad since the middle of the first decade of the 2000's. There is momentum and importantly, experience and roster depth. The Hornets have sustained a decent level of play the past several years and are on track for more of the same. The Trojan Defense will be the difference maker on Friday. GI's Pick: Trojans by 8
Rick Hansen @ Samuel Roberts: SRT is coming off of a nightmare defensive outing vs Abbey and could very well get fed more of the same by the Hurricanes on Friday. Hansen put up points against a very good Mission team earlier this season and has had a bye week to prepare. GI's Pick: Hansen by 33
Saturday
South Kamloops @ Clarence Fulton: The Maroons seem to be finding their offensive and defensive selves. South Kamloops is a bit of an enigma. GI's Pick: Fulton by 12
Windsor @ Ballenas: This is an intriguing game. Windsor can throw the ball pretty well and Ballenas defensively, has found it's 2014 defensive struggles to be in that area. Offensively, the Ballenas offensive line continues to be amongst the best in AA. This bodes well for late fall games on grass and in the weather. Special teams are a toss-up. GI's Pick: Ballenas by 14
Handsworth (AAA) @ Carson Graham: The Buchannan Bowl has not been derailed by the events of 2014. Good! This rivalry game will be another dandy. Carson has the deeper roster and is really hitting its stride. Look for a big day on the ground for the Eagles. GI's Pick: Carson by 7
AA JV
GI's Top 5
1. G.W. Graham
2. Abbottsford
3. Mission
4. Duchess Park
5. Ballenas
No comments:
Post a Comment