AA Varsity Week 7

AA Varsity Week Seven

Week Six Round-Up

College football has its rivalry week.  This past weekend was BCSSFA's AA blowout week.  With one notable exception, none of the scores were very close.  You can seriously get a good snapshot of program momentum headed in to week eight by looking at the scores below.  This sets the table for a decisive final three weeks of play!

Scores

John Barsby 44 Windsor 20
Hugh Boyd 52 Clarence Fulton 7
Holy Cross 57 Frank Hurt 0
Carson Graham 35 Ballenas 7
G.W. Graham 42 Rick Hansen 0
Abbottsford 42 Pitt Meadows 0
Langley 54 Moscrop 0
Mission 10 Robert Bateman 9
Vernon 27 Valleyview 8
Nanaimo District 40 Timberline 0
South Kamloops 38 Westsyde 9

GI's AA Top Five

1. G.W. Graham Grizzlies
2. Abbottsford Panthers
3. Carson Graham Eagles
4. Langley Saints
5. Holy Cross Crusaders

Honorable Mention: Hugh Boyd Trojans, John Barsby Bulldogs, Vernon Panthers, Mission Roadrunners, Prince George Polars, South-Kamloops Titans

The Conferences

AA East: The October 30th tilt between Graham and Abbey looms large in the East as first and second place will be decided right then and there.  Mission will likely get to a hard fought third place and Bateman the number 4 seed.  High school football players have a say however and the Roadrunners are capable of an upset along the way.

AA West: The Carson Graham-Barsby game will clarify the post season fate of both teams in a very meaningful way.  Windsor is surging and Nanaimo District/Ballenas are trying to find a way to get healthy headed in to the final couple of weeks.  This week's bye for the Whalers is massive in terms of being timely and inmportant.

AA South: What seemed a two horse race between the Trojans and Cruseaders in early September has now become a serious three way affair with the emergence of the Langley Saints as a serious contender.  This weekend's tilt between Troy and Cross can be considered the game that decides who is number three coming out of the South.

AA Interior: Vernon is the class of the Interior and on their heels is South Kamloops and Valleyview.  These two teams will sort things out this coming weekend and then it will be time to dance with the Northern squads for final playoff seeding.

AA North: Prince George is having their best year ever as the Condors cede top rail to their Polar Rivals.  After that, Duchess is the likely number two.  I think PG can legitimately compete with all but Vernon from the Interior when the seeding match-ups get going in earnest.


GI's Picks

Friday, 23 October

Robert Bateman @ Abbottsford: Robert Bateman has been playing very tough football week in and week out this season.  They have been more consistent in terms of their effort than the vastly deeper and more talented Abbey Panthers.  This said, Abbey has put together a couple solid wins of late and they appear to be ironing out internal wrinkles.  Bateman's speed is a plus for the game day match-ups, but their depth is questionable.  GI's Pick:  Panthers by 15

Carson Graham @ John Barsby: This tilt can be legitimately billed as the co-game of the week and it pits two programs who have been building a great divisional rivalry with one another the past four years.  Look for the Eagles to come in to this one very aggressive on both sides of the ball. Offensively, they are a two headed monster in terms of their run-pass balance and defensively, this group loves to pressure from every direction possible and if you could pressure vertically ie. coming at offenses from the clouds, they would do that too!  Barsby for their part, have finally gotten some quality production from their offensive group.  Defensively, the Dawgs are always tough and this side of the ball will surely have its work cut out for it come game day.  Special teams for both groups have been fairly solid to date.  Friday afternoon in Nanaimo is going to be entertaining for sure.  GI's Pick: Barsby by 3 in a minor upset.

Frank Hurt @ Moscrop: This game is likely for the fourth place seed coming out of the South. The present state of self-confidence within each roster coming off of big losses will have much to say in terms of what the coaching staff can milk out of em this week at practice.  A couple quick scores for either team could cause a big collapse by the opposing group come game day as there are likely some fragile egos.   GI's Pick: Hornets by 7

Clarence Fulton @ Westsyde: The Maroons have traveled a lot this year with near perfect consistency in terms of scoreboard results. Westsyde is playing some good scrappy ball and they are at home.  Look for the home team to wear out the Vernon group in this tilt.  GI's Pick: Westsyde by 11

Windsor @ Nanaimo District: The Dukes travel back to Nanaimo for round two of their series versus the Nanaimo schools of Barsby and Nanaimo District.  Windsor came up short on the scoreboard versus the Dawgs last week, but played very good football throughout.  Nanaimo is coming off the biggest win of their season headed in to this one.  Windsor has a deeper bench and  is executing with great precision up front.  GI's Pick: Dukes trap and toss their way to big numbers....Dukes by 19

Pitt Meadows @ G.W. Graham: Last week it was divisional powerhouse Abbey for the Marauders, this week it is another flavor of the same versus the Grizzlies.  When Pitt emerges from these two games, they will be battle tested for sure and won't be playing anyone else of that calibre the rest of the season.  Graham has with two exceptions, barely broken a sweat this year.  Their biggest enemy headed into their final couple weeks after this will be complacency.  GI's Pick: Grizzzlies by 20 plus

Valleyview @ South Kamloops: This on paper is a very evenly matched contest in the Kamloops area.  Both squads know each other well and there will be few surprises other than your garden variety bad bounce of weather induced turnover.  The Titans have been playing a better game on the field than their guests of late.  GI's Pick: Titans by ten

Saturday, 24 October

Hugh Boyd @ Holy Cross: Huge Game for both squads deservedly earning co-game of the week honors!  This is going to be both physical and telling in terms of how both teams enter the looming playoff draw.  Both teams are coming off of blowouts versus divisional foes and the first quarter is going to be interesting indeed as that momentum blows in like a Pacific Storm Front.  I think on balance, the Holy Cross crew is deeper and has more experience this year playing tougher competition.  This will be telling if things stay close for any amount of time. GI's Pick: Crusaders by 11

Rick Hansen @ Mission: The Hurricanes play an old divisional rival in the Roadrunners on Saturday.  Mission has been stringing together a series of quality game day performances and are certainly going to be one of the lower seeds who can make a deep run in the playoffs.  Kudos to the coaching staff for bringing this group along so nicely!  Rick Hansen on the other hand is gamely working their way through a long rebuilding process.  Hats off to the players and coaches of this group as well.  Come game day, this will be lopsided, its the simple math of the matter.  GI's Pick: Mission by 20 plus