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Who would have thought?
Boasting one of the best all-around players in the province and a star-studded supporting cast, the Kelowna Owls simply couldn’t hold on to a bouncing ball and dropped a 51-13 decision to the Mt.Douglas Rams in a B.C. High school Football Association quarter-final.
While Rams’ head coach, Mark Townsend, called his team’s win on Friday in Victoria “our most complete performance of the season in all three areas of the game — offence, defence and special teams” — it was four recovered short-to-medium on-side kickoffs that proved a major contributing factor in the surprisingly lopsided playoff win.
“Despite the score, we actually played pretty well,” mused Owls head coach, Ben Macauley after the long, long trip home. “The big difference was that they scored on all four of those kick-off recoveries after starting their drives from our 30- to 20-yard line. We got into a hole (30-7 at the half) we couldn’t get out of.
“Full credit to Mt. Doug. They’re a well-coached team and they saw something in our special teams that they were able to exploit it.”
Kicking into the second level of the Owls’ receiving alignment, the Rams grabbed the ball after it had ricocheted off chests, helmets and multiple other parts of Owls’ bodies.
“It was a combination of them being in the right place at the right time and us just not being able to make the right play,” said Macauley.
With the KSS defence forced to stay on the field and being worn down deep in its own end, the respected Owls’ offence couldn’t get nearly as much time as it needed to prove its worth.
“Considering we got in only 30 plays on offence, the numbers were pretty good,” added Macauley. “If we would have had the ball more often, we could have made a game of it.”
As it was, Parker Simson, in the running as the top player in B.C. high school football, and almost certainly a provincial all-star, was limited to throwing seven passes (he completed six) for 102 yards and a TD (38 yards to Adam DiBiase). He also ran nine times for 50 yards and a three-yard touchdown. Oh, and he intercepted two Rams passes.
Running back, Seth Campbell, carried the ball 12 times for 60 yards.
Defensively, Macauley lauded the play of a tired and overworked group, led by Simson’s eight tackles and five by both Sean McMechan and Cole Stregger.
“I have to say I’m very proud of the guys. Despite the early setbacks that dictated the rest of the game, they kept on working hard and never quit.”
Meanwhile, the Mt. Douglas win launched the Rams to the Saturday’s Subway Bowl semifinal against the No. 1-ranked Terry Fox Ravens of Port Coquitlam, who defeated the defending-champion South Delta Sun Devils 33-14 in another quarter-final matchup. The other semi will see the No. 2 Vancouver College Fighting Irish (27-0 over the Notre Dame Jugglers) taking on No. 4 New Westminster Hyacks, who defeated No. 5 St. Thomas More 27-13 on Friday.
Three of the Mt. Douglas Rams ran for more than 100 yards against the Owls, while Grade 9 quarterback, Gideone Kremler threw 15 passes and completed 11 of them for 151 yards.
Townsend said he and his coaching staff challenged his players to be their best early on.
“We wanted to be aggressive, we wanted to go for two-point converts and we wanted to be the most physical team on the field. And we ticked off all those boxes.”
He didn’t mention recovering bouncing balls on kickoffs.
Looking back on a season in which the Owls finished with an overall record of 8-3, Macauley, in his first season as head coach, said there were “a lot of positives.”
“There were times when we were showing brilliance. In our game against Terry Fox, we were tied 13-13 at the half and we were right there with the best team in the province,” recalled Macauley. “We struggled offensively in the second half and lost (27-13), but we played hard for four quarter and I felt the team really came together. It showed that we’re heading in the right direction.”
Macauley confirmed he wants to be back at the helm of the Owls next season.
“I really enjoyed working this age group and I think the kids had fun too. We changed the culture a little bit, so I’m thinking most of the players who can come back, will. And hopefully the word will get out that it’s a great program to be a part of.”
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