AA Varsity Championship Edition

AA Varsity 2018 BC Championship Game

Saturday, December 1st

BC Place Stadium

VS

Vernon Panthers vs Robert Bateman Timberwolves:  Well folks, these are clearly the two best AA Varsity Football Teams in British Columbia.  Each squad is coming off of dominant and convincing semi-final games this past Saturday.  The season and playoffs are there for a reason: The best teams emerge by playing the games and demonstrating their mastery of the game fair and square on a level playing field.  On Saturday, 1 December, the 2018 Subway Bowl is going to be a treat for all who watch!

I think Bateman is easily the most improved team in the province this year.  Every week they have gotten better and they now face a true force of nature in the Vernon Panthers on the big stage.  I am really excited to see how this one plays out.  Both offenses can put a load of points on the board on the ground and in the air.  Both defenses are extremely physical and fly to the ball.  The big boys up front are super for each team.  Vernon may have a bit of an edge in terms of toughness there however.  Special teams are a draw.  Each team has a superb kicker and the field is going to get flipped multiple times on game day.  This one will come down to turnovers and the ability to protect the quarterback.  GI's Pick: Vernon in a squeaker where having gained an early lead, they barely survive a second half Bateman surge.

Final Note:  Congratulations to both rosters and their coaching staff, supporters!  You guys earned this and are the best in the province.  Enjoy your special day!  You do AA Varsity Football Proud!!

2018 AA Varsity Semi-Final Edition

2018 AA Varsity Semi-Final Games

Robert Bateman Timberwolves vs Holy Cross Crusaders:  This clash of number 1 seeds is also a clash between two squads that have bragging rights as the most improved teams in the league since week 1 rolled out.  The match-ups are pretty close across the board.  Close however is not the same.  Offense, edge to Bateman.  Defense, edge to Bateman.  Special teams, slight edge to Bateman.  Now the math of it all says Bateman, but HS Football is no science.   Holy Cross has something going on.  They have not been making mistakes and they have been working as a total team unit since week 5.  These guys also have demonstrated knock-out punch big plays on offense and great defensive tenacity.  Bateman is going to have a tough time with the edge rush and screening won't always be the salve for that problem.  Turnovers will be critical in this tilt as well  GI's Pick: Valor

Vernon Panthers vs John Barsby Bulldogs:  Well, Vernon has been the wire to wire #1 squad in BC all season.  They have earned this by deed.  The Panthers have all the weapons on offense at every possession and are a threat to score on any given play.  Defensively they mirror their offensive selves and the kicking game is superb.  Barsby presents its own set of challenges to opponents as well.  The Dawgs are very balanced offensively and they play a tough, stubborn brand of defense with opportunistic special teams.  Historically, games between these two programs have always been hard fought affairs.  I see nothing to make me feel that this year's tilt will not be more of the same.  GI's Pick: Valor

AA Varsity Football BC Quarter-Final Edition

AA Varsity Quarter-Finals

Gridiron's AA Varsity Top 5

1. Vernon Panthers

2. Holy Cross Crusaders

3. John Barsby Bulldogs

4. Windsor Dukes

5. Robert Bateman Timberwolves

GI's Picks

G.W. Graham Grizzlies @ John Barsby Bulldogs:  Graham threw for over 500 yards and racked up 59 points vs Kelley Road with their back-up quarterback at the helm!  Words like Blitzkrieg, Shelling and Carpet Bombing quickly jump to mind when looking at these numbers.  Well, in today's offensive vernacular, they are running what is commonly referred to as a form of the air-raid offense popularized by the likes of Texas Tech, West Virginia, Oklahoma and company from the NCAA's Big 12 Division.  Luckily for Barsby, the Dawgs just received and installed a regimental sized shipment of the world leading Russian SA 400 air defense system.   All kidding aside, the Grizzlies have laid down the gauntlet and Barsby will have to respond while not selling the farm to stop just the pass.  Graham can run the ball very effectively as well!  Barsby's last football game was a week 8 tilt against Windsor.  When the ball gets kicked-off on Saturday, it will have been 22 days since their last live snap! Bye weeks are tricky customers.  Three weeks of solitary confinement behind the fog banks of the Georgia Strait can be downright schizophrenic!  What has been brewing on the Barsby practice field all this time?  Are there going to be surprises?   Well, we can only go with the knowns.  Size: GW Graham.  Speed: Barsby slight edge.  Quickness: Barsby.  Defense: Statistically, Barsby.  Offense: Draw, both teams can score just about any way you can imagine.  Specials:  We will see. Home Field: Barsby.  GI's Pick: Barsby by 10

Windsor Dukes @ Robert Bateman Timberwolves: Great match-up here!  Both teams are playing their best football of the season and enter the game healthy.  Last week I called Windsor a "bracket buster" and they did not disappoint.  Looking at this one, it is going to be a real chess match!  I will get back to this point of emphasis at the conclusion.  Match-ups: Size: Bateman has an edge up front on both sides of the ball, not a huge differential, but they are bigger.  Speed: This is a draw as both squads have some serious rocket-men on their respective rosters.  Quickness: Windsor has a bit more quick twitch than their foes.  Physicality: Draw.  Both crews don't shy away from contact and seemingly enjoy a good tooth rattling smack session when it presents itself.  Scheme: Offensively, Windsor has the highest percentage of pass completion in the province.  When they throw, it counts.  The Timberwolves are no slouches either and have been very balanced in their attack.  Defenses:  Bateman has to be the most improved team in the province defensively with perhaps the exception of Holy Cross.  Windsor is very disciplined and can play a punishing brand of of football when they get to focus exclusively on the run.  Both teams will have to face balanced attacks and there will be an imperative to prevent the big play.  Special teams are a relative tie.   So what is going to give here?  These teams met very early in the season in an exhibition tilt.  If I recall, Bateman's HC said something to the effect that his squad got worn down by the run as the game progressed.  Has this been fixed?  I don't know.  For me, this game will come down to communication.  Can Windsor out maneuver the Bateman defense with timely call after timely call once the center is over the ball and the whistle blown in.  I think they can and with the Dukes always holding the chalk last in a game of tic-tac-toe they bust this thing open by the mid 2nd quarter.  GI's Pick: Dukes by 11

Ballenas Whalers @ Vernon Panthers:  The last two times these programs have met, it has been playoffs and Vernon has beaten Ballenas up and down the sidewalk.  This has not really been due to any lack of toughness, preparation or brains on the part of the Whalers.  Not at all.  The fact is, Vernon is just that good.  The Panthers are having one of those once in a half-decade runs as a program where they are deep and highly schooled in their systems.  They do what they do and they do it magnificently.   The current Panther roster has cumulatively spent double or triple the amount of time in the Dome than the next most Dome experienced program in BC.  Big games are a dime a dozen to these guys.   Vernon has has two weeks to get ready for this game and they are playing it at home.  This is tough math for the visitors.  The Whalers are going to have to pull off the most epic upset of the season this coming weekend.  Coming off of a ferocious, physical game vs Langley has to have left em a bit bruised to say the least.  Ballenas will find out what kind of warriors they truly are when they play this one.   Brass Tacks:  The Whaler offense can run some great power football and their play action off of this mirrors their running game.  The Whaler "skill position" guys are as good as anyone in BC!  They catch what is thrown to them and their coaching staff gets the very most out of their players and their skill sets.   Defensively, I have only seen one game (vs Windsor) where they got exposed scheme wise.  Whaler special teams are notoriously good and can be game changers for sure.  Vernon for their part matches-up across the board with the visitors and they have the best rb in the province to compliment a lethal passing game.  Up front, they are deep, big, skilled and quick.  If this game had been played in week 2 or 3 it would be close.  A season of wear and tear combined with a long road-trip has a say.  GI's Pick: Vernon by 24

Prince George Polars @ Holy Cross Crusaders: I've war gamed this one pretty extensively and the scenarios all seem to reach a similar conclusion.  Holy Cross will win.  Road-Trip....PG has a long one.  Overall aggregate team speed: Crusaders.  Strength of Schedule: Crusaders.  Pass defense: Crusaders.  Run defense: Draw Size: PG.  Run game: Most people looking at the stats would say PG.  Not so fast, PG runs great in its sysetem.  HC runs very well from its system as well.  Both attacks are predicated on wildly different schemes, both are effective.  Both offensive lines are good.  I am going to call this a Draw!  Passing Game: Holy Cross by a country mile.  PG has seen nothing like it in terms of execution and big play ability.  They have not had to spend a season preparing for such attacks and will be exposed early and often.  Special Teams: Draw.   The war gaming keeps arriving at a scenario whereby PG grinds and grinds, but the HC defense, with two weeks of prep, takes away PG's best 2-3 plays.  Nothing left in the cupboards for the Polars but their junk.  HC offense out of the gun will have just enough time to launch that ball to receivers who carve up PG coverages over and over again.  Now all of this said, war-games are just war games.  You play the game for a reason and players have to make plays.  Teenagers are an unpredictable lot.  PG has some serious athletes and if they get in to a groove and keep the ball out of HC's hands, they have a shot.  GI's Pick: Crusaders win big by 20 plus.

2018 AA Varsity Playoffs Round 1

Playoffs Are Here!

AA Varsity Top 5

1. Vernon Panthers

2. Holy Cross Crusaders

3. John Barsby Bulldogs

4. Ballenas Whalers

5. Robert Bateman Timberwolves

GI's Picks

Friday, November 9th

Ballenas Whalers @ Langley Saints:  You have all heard of truck pull derbies, well, this is going to be the gridiron version of a bulldozer push derby.  A collision of the two best true power football offenses in AA Varsity Ball.  Both defenses see their offensive counterparts at practice all week long and so you have to figure that some smash mouth football is just their cup of tea.  So is this going to be some kind of stalemate fought at mid-field for 48 minutes?  Nope.  Each squad is going to hurl some great shots at the other via the air.  Special Teams will be "special" in terms of flipping the field and creating opportunities.  So here is the tale of the tape:  Offensive Line: Narrow edge to Langley, Backfield: Draw; Receivers: Ballenas; Quarterback: Ballenas; Kicking Game; Ballenas  Defensive Line: Langley; Linebackers: Draw: DB's: Edge to Ballenas.   Size: Langley Speed: Draw; Quickness in space: Ballenas; Self-Discipline: Langley; Scheme: Ballenas can do more offensively.  Toughness: Both Teams are Tough in their own way.  Langley might lean on the Whalers a bit up front.  GI's Pick:  This will be one hell of a physical game up-front and if it was just power football for four quarters, Langley would win, but not separate til the late 3rd quarter.   Ballenas will play more of a judo game offensively in this one and survive the frontal assault by moving the ball just about every way you can imagine.  Langley may get snake-bit on specials too.  Whalers by 11

Saturday, November 10th

G.W. Graham Grizzlies @ Kelley Road Roadrunners: The Roadrunners will play physical against the run in this game.  They will however be almost helpless against the G.W. passing game.  Its just a fact that Graham has faced way better passing attacks all year long than Kelley Road.  This reality means that the host squad probably has to decide if it can pressure the visitors and limit opportunities.  Tough to do against Shotgun, but has been done at least once this year. The Langley game a couple weeks ago is a prime example of this.  Offensively, the home squad has to play its very best game of the year to stay in the game.  Trick plays and adding to the playbook are not going to get it done.  Graham has a distinct advantage in the kicking-game.  Size: Graham; Speed: Draw; Roster Depth: Kelley Road; Big Game Experience: Graham; Home Field: Kelley Road; GI's Pick:  Graham by 26

Windsor Dukes @ Clarence Fulton Maroons:  Remember that old Trooper song "Three Dressed Up As A Nine"?  Well, lets play with that.  Windsor is a 1 seed dressed-up as a 3 seed in this year's playoff.  A one dressed up as a three led by a genius.  Windsor is a bracket-buster in this year's draw and I think they are a legit pick to get to the Subway Bowl.   Fulton earned the right to host.  This isn't last year's Fulton however and it is going to be tough times defending against that magnificent Windsor Offense.  The Duke Defense is going to be air tight.  The Dukes win just about every physical match-up you can imagine as well.  GI's Pick: Windsor by 26