Displaying a winning character on and off the field, the Kelowna Owls marched to their third straight B.C. Secondary Schools Football Association victory of the season at the Apple Bowl on the weekend.
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Trailing by four points early in the second half, the Owls proved resilient as well as remarkable in scoring 14 unanswered points to claim a 31-21 triumph over the visiting Mission Roadrunners. They evened their AAA Eastern Conference record to 3-3 with the win.
Marcus Athans threw touchdown passes to Nathan Tonogai and Kyle Zakala in the late stages of the game on Friday to cap one of the Kelowna Secondary School quarterback’s strongest performances of the season that included 18 completions on 31 attempts for 265 yards.
Tonogai also scored on a 15-yard pass-and-run play with Athans in the first half, while Nolan Ulm, who caught five passes for 104 yards, rounded out the touchdown outburst with a 45-yard hookup with Athans late in the first half.
Defensively, Tonogai and Kyle Klotzbach led the assault with nine tackles apiece.
“It was a battle today,” said KSS head coach, Chris Cartwright. “Mission is a very good team and forced us to dig deep. We as a coaching staff are really happy with how our team worked so hard to get the win tonight. We showed a lot of character in all aspects of the game. We are very proud of them.
“It was another example of how our team is buying into the culture we are establishing here at KSS.”
Prior to the game, the Owls recognized the many Grade 12 players suiting up for their final home game and went the extra mile to have fellow graduate and waterboy, Parker Begg, suit up for the game and run a play between halves.
With both the Owls and Roadrunners in formation, Begg was handed the ball at the 40-yard line and ran it into the endzone.
“It was the players’ idea and both teams and coaches were excited about making it happen,” said Cartwright. “Parker has been a big part of the team this season. And like the game of football itself, he touches so many lives in different ways.”
Begg said he was “super excited” about the chance to get on the field as a player and participate, while his Dad, Jeff Begg, said it was a “dream come true” for his son.
“He got up early and dressed for the game . . . and he got to feel like a real team member.”
Friday’s win clinched a playoff berth for the Owls, who close out the regular season against the favoured Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers (5-1) in Surrey on Friday afternoon.
“We still have a lot of things we need to work on fundamentally as we prepare to play Tweedsmuir and get ready for the playoffs,” said Cartwright.
Meanwhile, the Mt. Boucherie Bears, who defeated the Owls 46-22 earlier this month, also improved to 3-3 by waltzing to a 60-12 win over the winless Centennial Centaurs in Coquitlam on Friday.
It was a big-play day for the Bears, who scored seven touchdowns on 12 total plays and they didn’t pass the ball the entire game.
Giving up a touchdown on the opening kickoff, Boucherie rebounded quickly, scoring on a 90-yard TD by Matt Labelle. Linebacker Rylan Thompson added a major by recovering a fumble and running the ball in from 25 yards out.
While the Bears tried to roll all their players to prevent the score from getting out of hand against a young Centaurs team, the romp was on.
Boucherie rushed for 337 yards on just 12 carries, with Jesse Benneke leading the way with 120 yards on four carries and three touchdowns. Quarterback Dylan Milligan ran twice for 108 yards and a pair of TDs while Labelle covered 51 yards on two carries and Caleb Fransen added 58 yards and a major on three runs.
Thompson led the Boucherie defence with five tackles, a sack and the fumble recovery while safety Burkely Theriault contributed four tackles and an interception. Defensive end, Simon Paul, had three tackles and a sack
The Bears will be favoured to finish in fourth place in the Eastern Conference when they travel to Abbotsford on Friday to take on the 2-4 W.J. Mouat Hawks.
In Pacific Division AAA play on the weekend, the Rutland Voodoos dropped 27-14 decision in Nanaimo and fell to 0-3 in regular-season play.
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