Boucherie, KSS look to all-stars for leadership in weekend playoff action

As clear-cut underdogs, the Mt. Boucherie Bears and Kelowna Owls will need their top dogs to be in top form if they hope to pull off what would have to be a major upset in B.C. Secondary School Football Association playoff action this weekend.

The Bears, coming off a 39-3 win over the W.J. Mouat Hawks of Abbotsford in their final regular-season game on the weekend, nailed down fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a 4-3 record and will meet the Western Conference’s fifth-place Mt. Douglas Rams of Victoria on Saturday at CNC’s Mission Stadium beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Meanwhile, the KSS Owls (3-3), fifth place finishers in the Eastern Conference, will bus to Burnaby on Friday for a meeting with the favoured Notre Dame Jugglers (4-3), fourth-place in the Western Conference.

Among the key performers for Boucherie against Mt. Douglas will be recently named conference all-star Spencer Lindholm, who contributed significantly to the team offensively and defensively this season.

Lindholm, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound Grade 12 student athlete, racked up 48 tackles, three interceptions and a sack as the Bears’ only linebacker to play in every Boucherie game.

His coach, Mike Godwin, wasn’t surprised Lindholm proved to be among the elite players in the province.

“He’s a physical kid who plays with a lot of enthusiasm,” said Godwin on hearing of Lindholm’s selection as the only Bear to make the Dream Team. “Spencer put a lot of work in the weight room and that helped him a lot in staying healthy and playing at the all-star level.”

In the weekend win over Mouat, Lindholm’s considerable talent was on full display as he came through with one of the Bears’ seven sacks on the day, intercepted a pass and returned the ball 50 yards for a touchdown. Tyson Senuk broke through for a pair of sacks while Deny Kovach, Richardo Abraham and Spencer Punch also brought down the Mouat quarterback.

Jesse Benneke, another of the Bears who will need to be at peak form on Saturday, led the team with seven tackles and as a running back, contributed three touchdowns.

Looking head to the first-round playoff encounter on Saturday at the CNC, coach Godwin conceded the Bears will be in tough against a Mount Douglas team quarterbacked by Gideone Kremler, who led the Rams to the 2015 AAA championship as a Grade 9 student.

“Mt. Doug has a been a powerhouse and they play in a really tough conference, so I have little idea how we will match up,” said Godwin. “They’ve lost some close games and have had some big wins over highly ranked teams. I hope the fact that they have to travel all the way from the Island will give us a bit of an extra edge.”

As for the Owls, they’ll be boasting a pair of Eastern Conference all-stars in Kyle Zakala and Tyler Klotzbach when they take on Notre Dame in Burnaby on Friday.

Zakala, selected as an all-star receiver, also played as an offensive and defensive lineman and as a kicker. In three games at receiver, the 6-foot-6, 230-pounder caught nine passes for 175 yards while scoring three touchdowns.

"Kyle has shown a lot of growth this year as a football player,” offered KSS head coach, Chris Cartwright. “We asked Kyle to do so many things this year. And while it’s been a huge learning experience for him, it will go a long way in his development at the next level.”

Klotzbach, a 5-foot-8 linebacker, was one of only four Grade 11s selected to the Eastern Conference’s defensive all-star team and has a bright future in the game according to coach Cartwright.

“Tyler is a great kid who grinds every play,” said Cartwright of Klotzbach, who led the team in tackles with 31. “He’s a big part of our defence and sets the standard on how our players need to play on that side of the ball. He is a very coachable player.”

As for his team’s meeting with Notre Dame on Friday, Cartwright knows the opposition is a formidable one, but he and his coaching staff are concentrating on the Owls’ own systems.

“We want to continue to be consistent, especially on offence where we have established our running game and improved on the passing end of things,”he said. “We have a good rotation on the defensive line and we have a talented secondary, but we have to be disciplined with our responsibilities if we are to be successful.

Cartwright, in his second season with the Owls, acknowledged that his team has come a long way since the start of the season.

“We learned from our mistakes and have been learning to trust the process through our “tough” philosophy on and off the field.

“ Every player on our varsity team has shown he can compete against anyone in the province. We’re not the same team we were in the first few weeks,” he added.

“It comes down to the players making a choice to how they want their season to play out. They’re a great group of young men and we’re really proud of how they have grown this year.”

In other high school football all-star news, the Rutland Voodoos had three players selected to the Pacific Conference all-star team.

Lineman Connor Douglas and running back, Brayden Anderson were named to the offensive team while lineman Jared Pimiskern is a member of the conference defensive team.

Douglas made a comeback from a serious injury (broken wrist) in pre-season to anchor the offensive line.

“Connor’s a great leader and team guy,” said Voodoos’ veteran head coach, Pete McCall. “He worked very hard in the weight room and attended camps and all-star games during the off-season . . . and that really stepped up the quality of his game.”

McCall referred to Anderson as “Rutland’s Mr. Football”.

“What didn't Brayden do over the past three years at RSS? He was our leading tackler again this season on defence (54 solo tackles and two fumble recoveries). He rushed for 560 yards and five touchdowns. And he caught 15 catches for 215 yards and another TD.

“Brayden is one of the best I have coached in all my years at RSS. He'll be playing football for years to come,” added McCall.

As for Pimiskern, McCall noted that although only in Grade 11, his defensive lineman turned enough heads to get an all-star nod.

“He has a motor that never stops on the field. Another year in the weight room for Jared and he'll be a provincial all-star next season,” said McCall of Pimiskern who accumulated 35 tackles, two sacks and two fumble recoveries this season.