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Boosted by the return of gridiron neophyte, Storm Buck, the Kelowna Owls breezed to their first win of the B.C. Secondary Schools Football Association regular season on the weekend in Coquitlam.
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Buck, a Grade 11 running back playing in his second-ever football game, rushed for 171 yards and scored a touchdown to lead the Owls (1-2) to 49-7 Eastern Conference victory over the winless Centennial Centaurs.
“We’re very excited to have Storm back,” understated KSS head coach Chris Cartwright of Buck, a rugby player for the Black and Gold in the spring who was injured in Week 1 of the football season in Vernon. “He definitely adds another dimension to our offence.”
Rhys James, another rugby player (international student from Wales), also contributed big time to the Owls’ production with 71 yards receiving at his tight end position. And as a kicker, he added a two-point conversion off a bad snap on a point-after attempt.
“He (James) is an all-around athlete and a great kid who is taking advantage of an opportunity,” pointed out Cartwright.
Isaac Athans, also a multi-talented athlete, who excels at water and alpine skiing, looked right at home gliding at the helm of the Owls’ offence. He completed 11 of 15 passes for 212 yards and threw three touchdown passes while running in from 14 yards out for a TD.
“Isaac played extremely well and showed great leadership on the field,” said Cartwright
The same was said of Athans’ favourite receiver, Nolan Ulm, who caught three of his quarterback's passes for touchdowns and accumulated 114 yards, the big one being a 70-yard reception for a major.
“We didn’t change our offence. We tweaked it,” noted Cartwright. “We adjusted to another aspect of our offensive system to what our players can do. We are excited to continue to grow from this.”
The Kelowna defence contributed a pair of touchdowns. Grade 11 safety, Zander Torres, scored on an interception and led the Owls with five tackles while defensive end, Lucus Spencer, added a touchdown with a scoop-and-score from 54 yards out.
“It was very nice to see our defence score. It’s kept us in our games and for those guys to contribute on the scoreboard is a big confidence boost.”
With a meeting against the No. 1-ranked Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers of Surrey coming up on Friday at the Apple Bowl (6:30 p.m.), coach Cartwright expects a stiffer challenge for his young Owls but is confident in the team’s process and progress.
“The way we are approaching the game in our program is trusting the process and taking advantage of the opportunities given to us,” he said. “We can’t worry about the uncertainties of an outcome on and off the field. We need to be adaptable and explore different approaches to what we do.
“That’s learning! Commit and learn from the opportunities and things tend to work out. That’s what it means to be T.O.U.G.H.!”
He added that the Owls will have to be at their best against Lord Tweedsmuir.
“There are things we got away with against Centennial that we will not be able to get away with against them (Tweedsmuir). They have great athletes and are very disciplined on offence and defence.
“But I believe we can compete with anyone. Our defence continues to play solid for us, and building on the tweaks we made on offence, we feel good about our chances to compete.”
Abbotsford 35 Mt Boucherie 0
With only 17 players dressed and fewer able to play, Mt. Boucherie couldn’t mount much of an attack against the Abbotsford Panthers on a rainy afternoon at the Apple Bowl.
The Bears, with a rash of injuries and a depleted roster, are now 0-3 in the regular season and have scored only eight points in the three games.
Things look bleak for the Bears upcoming as they travel to Coquitlam to take on the No. 2-ranked Terry Fox Ravens on Friday and they'll meet No. 1 Lord Tweedsmuir in Surrey on Oct. 19 before playing host to Centennial on Oct. 26 at the Apple Bowl (6:30 p.m.).
Sardis 7 Rutland 6
Playing without their go-to running back, the Rutland Voodoos (4-1) couldn’t muster quite enough offence in Sardis and lost their first game in the AAA Pacific Division.
Chase Schumacher, who was attending a family wedding, out of the lineup, the Voodoos had to rely more heavily on quarterback Jhavoun Blake along the ground.
It was too much to ask.
But the multi-talented Grade 11 student-athlete did run 30 times for 198 yards and Rutland’s only touchdown.
The Voodoos missed the extra point and the Sardis Falcons didn’t.
Despite the Falcons making a few outstanding catches against the Voodoos and outplaying them physically for most of the game, Rutland still had a chance to pull out a win but missed a field goal in the last minute from 20 yards out.
Linebacker Prince Manongdo broke through for nine tackles to lead the Voodoo defence that included nine two-way players. Coltin Peterson contributed two red-zone interceptions and Blake added a pick and five tackles.
It will be a first-place showdown in the Pacific Division on Friday at the Apple Bowl when the 4-1 Voodoos play host to the W.J. Mouat Hawks of Abbotsford (4-1) beginning at 4 p.m.
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