A combined 82 years of high school football coaching concluded for Bill and Bruce Haddow at BC Place as their Hugh Boyd Trojans dropped a 46-7 Subway Bowl quarterfinal decision to the No. 3 ranked Abbotsford Panthers.
The Panthers, who started the season 0-3, have reeled off seven straight wins and will now face No. 1 ranked Winsdsor in the provincial "AA" championship game on Saturday.
Abby jumped out to an early 6-0 lead marching 80-yards on their opening drive with quarterback Ethan Anderson hitting Anthony Pham for a 47-yard score.
The Trojans answered with an impressive drive of their own, as quarterback Byron Ruvalcaba hit Reace Mok on a 56-yard touchdown and Hugh Boyd went up 7-6 a mere four minutes into the contest.
After Hugh Boyd held Abby on their next possession, Hugh Boyd began another promising drive and were getting close to the red zone, when Ruvalcaba was picked off setting Abbotsford up inside the Trojans 30-yard line.
Two plays later, Samwell Uko rushed for his first of four scores on the day.
Abbotsford then converted the two-pointer to go up 14-7.
On the next Trojan possession, Uko stripped the ball away from a Hugh Boyd receiver after a first down catch. That turnover seemed to be the back breaker, as Uko turned that pick into a rushing TD for a 21-7 lead.
Two more Abby TDs in the second quarter sent the teams to the locker room with the Panthers up 33-7.
Head coach Bill Haddow said the early turnovers hurt any momentum the Trojans generated.
“The first one was a simple slant pass and our guy was open and we just threw it behind him right into the defender’s arms,” Haddow said. “The second one, we’re down 14-7, we complete a hitch pass for a first down and they take it right out of the receivers’ hands and run the other way with it, so that’s just two extra touches that team doesn’t need.”
Haddow said Uko is a special player who certainly proved how pivotal he is to Abbotsford’s offense.
“Anytime you have a player like that in high school football you can feed him, feed him, and feed him. You hope to contain him. We knew he would get his yards, but we didn’t expect that he would run around the end a couple times untouched like that,” he said.
Haddow said despite the loss, after the game he told his players to be proud of themselves and to hold their heads up high.
“These were the guys who came to practice every day. Life doesn’t always turn out the way you want it and it’s a tough life lesson to learn and absorb and deal with it, but you came out here and competed,” he said. “I told them there are 23 kids playing high school football in Richmond and they are sitting right there, so that’s pretty special and they need to be proud of that.”
As for their final game on the sidelines, Haddow said they have had a long time to prepare for the moment.
“That’s why we put it out there at the start of the year,” he said. “I will probably wander out to a field somewhere next year and help out a bit, so I don’t think I will be totally out, but it certainly won’t be at the capacity it has been the last 40 years. I’ve prepared for it. I’m making some changes through my personal life and my teaching, so it’s going to be a big change, but I’m excited.”
In terms of the coaching staff next season, Haddow said that is still undecided.
“I guess we will have some say in it. Certainly be part of the process, but again once we step back someone will take it and they can do what they want with it,” he said. “We certainly won’t be telling people what to do. We want to see the program succeed and will be there to help out when asked.”
End Zone...
The Trojans were well-represented on the provincial "AA" all-star team with Reace Mok (running back), Ryan Jensen (linebacker) and Isaiah Danieals being selected. The trio were honoured at B.C. School Football Association's annual awards banquet on Tuesday in Vancouver.
