VANCOUVER — It’s not Subway Bowl playoff time quite yet in the world of B.C. high school football.
But on this second-to-final weekend of the regular season, it is title time in three of the province’s toughest divisions.
Between the Triple- and Double-A tiers, five ranked teams will clash in key games Friday and Saturday with conference regular season championship titles on the line.
Five of the six are playoff bound with a sixth battling for its post-season life. And in two instances, these are potential Subway Bowl championship finals previews just over a month ahead of the Dec. 7 championship at B.C. Place Stadium.
Here’s our look:
TRIPLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
No. 1 Mt. Douglas Rams (3-0 league, 7-0 overall) at No. 3 Vancouver College Fighting Irish (3-0, 6-2)
Saturday, 1:30 p.m., O’Hagan Field
They don’t get much better than this.
Victoria’s Mt. Douglas Rams were stung in last season’s B.C. championship final by South Delta, and while the defending champs have been ravaged by injury thus far, all the bunch from the capital have done is sprint out to a perfect 7-0 overall start.
Behind an offensive line that has set the table nicely, the Rams have gotten superb play from running back Declann Michielin (736 yards, 11 TDs) and young quarterback Gideone Kremler (1,217, 14 TDs), as well as dependable performances from receiver Gavin Cobb (1,008 yards, 9 TDs rushing and receiving).
“Just when you think you’ve seen all Gavin can do, he comes up with another highlight reel play,” says Rams’ head coach Mark Townsend. “The last example was a one-handed catch that would have made Odell Beckman Jr. stand up and applaud.”
Yet the beauty of the game lies in the fact that Vancouver College has matched Mt. Douglas’ level all season, it’s lone Canadian loss coming against No. 2 Terry Fox.
Start with the Irish offensive line, and then, as Townsend says: “you add the three-headed monster with quarterback Jacob Samuels (1,674 yards, 12 TDs) either handing off to Jasper Schiedel (493 yards, 6 TDs) or Michael Le (472 yards, 5 TDs), or throwing the ball to Rysen John (769 yards, 4 TDs), and you have a huge challenge on your hands. College is dangerous because they can effectively pound the ball or stretch the field with their passing game.”
EASTERN CONFERENCE
No. 2 Terry Fox Ravens (4-0, 7-0) at Kelowna-Mt. Boucherie Bears (1-2, 3-3)
Friday, 6:30 p.m., Apple Bowl
The host Bears are battling to grab one of the five post-season berths coming out of the East, and there would be no better time than Friday to build a head of steam for it’s regular-season, crosstown derby against No. 4 Kelowna.
However the host defence, led by defensive back Taylor Knoll and linebacker Zac Callaghan get perhaps their toughest test of the season from PoCo’s undefeated Ravens.
Terry Fox’s plus-102 point differential in just four previous conference games tells you all you need to know. Running backs Jeremie Kankolongo (635 yards, 13 TDs) and Taylor Poitras (406, 5 TDs) are a two-man wrecking crew averaging eight yards a carry, and the passing game is enough of a threat to keep everyone honest.
DOUBLE A
EASTERN CONFERENCE
No. 1 G.W. Graham Grizzlies (3-0, 4-1) at No. 2 Abbotsford Panthers (3-0, 6-1)
Friday, 7 p.m., Abbotsford Secondary
This is the game all of Double A football knew was going to happen after Chilliwack’s start-up Grizzlies and the re-born Panthers each bolted out of the gates. The No. 1 vs. No. 2 rankings are well-earned, but to have a clash between neighbouring programs with just one more week left in the campaign and a conference title on the line means it transcends every other game played at the tier this season.
Abby quarterback John Madigan leads the tier in passing yardage with 1,473 yards and 17 TDs, but he has been picked off 11 times. Counterpart Gabe Oliveras of the Grizz is fourth at 944 yards with 11 scores and four picks.
Panthers’ receiver Chase Claypool is the most dynamic player in B.C. A receiver by trade, he has done it all with 1,542 all-purpose yards through seven games and also is the team’s top tackler.
Emerson Smith and Baker Douglas are a top-flight receiving combo for the Grizzlies, combining for 699 yards and nine touchdowns.
A few other games this week with playoff implications:
TRIPLE A: W.J. Mouat at Lord Tweedsmuir, (Friday, 2 p.m.), Seaquam at Rutland, (Friday, 4 p.m.), Notre Dame at New Westminster (Friday, 7:30 p.m.)
DOUBLE A: Carson Graham at Windsor, (Friday, 3:45 p.m.), South Kamloops at Vernon (Saturday, 12 p.m.).
