Both the junior and senior Kelowna Secondary School Owls teams recorded convincing exhibition wins recently in preparation for what are expected to be formidable opponents in B.C. high school football regular-season openers this week.
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Led by the U16 Western Canadian flag football championship’s top offensive and defensive players — Nate Beauchemin and Noah Gross respectively — the junior Owls defeated the visiting New Westminster Hyacks 35-8 on Thursday.
Beauchemin completed 12 of 19 passes for 228 yards and rushed for another 46 yards in anchoring the Owls’ explosive offence that included 106 all-purpose yards and three touchdown catches by Gross. Risto Zimmer contributed 40 receiving yards and scored a TD for the winners.
Defensively, first-year Jack Nyrose came off the bench to make seven tackles while Kasian Kayfish and Keysean Lyder both chipped in with five takedowns. Owls’ rookie Everett Schuland finished with four tackles.
“I was happy with the overall effort and outcome,” said KSS junior head coach, Kendall Gross, whose team didn’t turn over the ball for a second straight pre-season outing. “But while it was a great game for us, we did receive a number of penalties that could have been avoided. And that’s something we need to work on before our first game (on Thursday 4 p.m. at Mar Jok Elementary against the Mt. Boucherie Bears).”
With 13 returning players, six of whom were part of Team BC at the U16 Western Canadian tackle football championships in Edmonton this summer, the Owls are expected to contend among the top teams in the province.
Kendall said the coaching staff assembled by senior head coach, Chris Cartwright, is a formidable one.
“Chris has done a great job of building the program and putting together a coaching staff with plenty of experience (CFL, U Sports and U.S.).”
Meanwhile the senior AAA Owls rounded out their pre-season schedule by downing the AA Salmon Arm Gold 40-13 in Salmon Arm.
Getting off to a sluggish start in wet conditions, the Owls gained momentum in the second half to cruise to the win.
“We didn’t come out in the first half the way we should have,” said coach Cartwright. “It was very sloppy on our part. Mental errors killed us.
“But we played it tough in the second half,” he added. “I’m very happy how we finished the game, but we need to be better next week against (provincially No. 2-ranked) Terry Fox (Friday at the Apple Bowl - 4 p.m.). We cannot start that game like we did today. I’m putting pressure on our leaders to set the tone for practice this week.”
Quarterback Isaac Athans connected on 12 of 20 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns in Salmon Arm while adding a pair of majors along the ground. Elijas Fedorick rushed for 54 yards and scored a TD.
Tyler Klotzbach led the defence with nine tackles.
The Rutland Voodoos open their AAA Pacific Conference regular season on Saturday when they travel to West Vancouver to meet the host Highlanders.
With a pair of convincing pre-season wins — 50-0 over Spectrum of Victoria and 27-17 against Nanaimo — the Voodoos are on a high going into the season opener.
Triple threat, Jhavoun Blake, is a key reason for the optimism at Rutland Secondary School.
The Grade 11 student-athlete will quarterback the team while playing free safety on defence and returning kicks and punts. Against Spectrum, Blake ran seven times for 86 yards and a pair of touchdowns while running back a punt 45 yards and intercepting a pass. He was 4-for-7 in the passing department.
Chase Schumacker carried the ball six times for 40 yards and a TD while Austin Yuros covered 89 yards and scored a touchdown.
Defensively, Grade 11 Prince Manongdo led the way with nine tackles and two sacks while he also forced a fumble.
Also being counted on to lead the Voodoos this season will be linemen Jarod Pimisker and Bear Akachuk.
Coming off a shutout loss (70-0) in Wenatchee on the past weekend, the Mt. Boucherie Bears will open their AAA Eastern Conference season in Burnaby on Friday against B.C.’s No. 5-ranked St. Thomas More Knights.
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