The St. Thomas More are hoping there is one more surprise ending in the march to a B.C. high school junior varsity football title.
The JV Knights pulled off a second consecutive playoff upset, outscoring the unbeaten interior champion Kelowna Owls 60-35 in the AAA conference semifinals in Chilliwack last Thursday.
A week earlier, the STM beat the Catholic school rival and undefeated South division champs Vancouver College 28-14 – the odds-on favourite to win the JV title this season.
The Burnaby independent, runner-up in the Central division to Terry Fox, will take on the Port Coquitlam program in the AAA JV provincial final at B.C. Place this Saturday.
STM, which lost three games this season, dropped its final game of the regular season 14-6 to the Ravens.
After dropping games to Mt. Douglas and Van College by huge margins to start the season, STM has got healthier and smarter in its schemes.
“It wasn’t as much about motivating them as it was empowering them – to redefine (the season) and themselves and about rallying around each other and making it the best season possible,” said STM head coach Dave Ruzycki.
The Knights had their running game hitting on all cylinders. Tavin Grant ran for six touchdowns and 386 yards to lead Burnaby team. Quarterback Terrell Jana also rushed for 160 yards and two scores.
But it wasn’t until Josh Dumont hauled in a 21-yard touchdown pass from Jana in the final three minutes of the contest that Ruzycki began to feel confident of a win.
“I was still nervous. (Kelowna) was scoring in seconds, not minutes,” said Ruzycki.
“(The Owls) were a very, very good football team and I knew that going in. I knew it would be a challenge for our defence.”
Despite leading 28-7 at one stage of the first half, Kelowna’s Parker Simson was always a threat to score.
The 6-1 all-purpose back broke two long runs for touchdowns, including a broken play off a blocked punt that Simson turned into a 70-yard TD that reduced the deficit to 28-21 in the second quarter.
But with a strong line leading STM’s predominantly running game, Ruzycki is feeling good about taking on the physical and well disciplined Ravens in Saturday’s final.
SFM’s offensive line is led by 6-3, 263-pound Darius MacKay, and ably backed up by Ben Steele, Philip Lemp, Landon Jackson, Nico Cesarei and Damarius Henderson.
While Ruzycki would like nothing better than to win a second provincial JV title, this year’s Knights are a far different team than the undefeated bunch that won in 2011.
“It would be more them,” Ruzycki said, deflecting the attention away from his own head-coaching record. “The boys had to overcome so many obstacles this season. They’ve worked as hard as they could and as well as they could.”
STM’s Grade 8 football team will also be vying for a provincial title at B.C. place. The first-year Knights take on Lord Tweedsmuir in the Quadra Cup final, which kicks off a full day of B.C. high school football finals under the dome. Kickoff is at 8 a.m.
