Hugh Boyd Trojans will be playing their first game at B.C. Place Stadium in a decade when they meet the Argyle Pipers Saturday morning in a B.C. High School Football “AA” quarter-final clash.
The Trojans’ last appearance at B.C. Place was the 2006 championship game — a 21-13 loss to the Seaquam Seahawks. That team happened to feature current assistant coach Serge Kamensky. Since then, the earlier playoff rounds have not been held at the stadium every year. Nonetheless, the team is looking forward to taking its season to the big stage.
Kickoff is slated for 10 a.m.
“The boys are very excited,” said Boyd head coach Bill Haddow. “We are going to spend some time settling them down this week. We want them to channel their energy positively.”
The Trojans enjoyed an opening round bye in the playoffs after clinching first place in the Western Conference with a 34-8 win over the John Barsby Bulldogs back in Nov. 4 in Nanaimo.
The Trojans took a 4-1 record to the Island against the 1-4 Bulldogs who have been typically a powerhouse team over the years. However, Boyd’s confidence was shaken a week earlier in a stunning 68-42 home field loss to Ballenas. Adding to the concerns were starting linemen Dylan Roach (concussion) and Kamron Porbeni (foot) unavailable.
The Trojans dealt with the potential adversity in prompt fashion, scoring on their opening two possessions and forcing the Bulldogs to punt as well. Grade 12 running back Reace Mok led the way with four touchdowns. Tariq Lopez had the other score.
Grade 10 John Whitlock and Arun Sandhu did stellar jobs filling in for the injured starters, joining Kyle Lambert, Nikos Lazarakis and Dayton Williamson on Boyd’s dominating defensive line. Josh Roshan, Lopez and Coleton Forrester also thrived at linebacker.
“It was an interesting week of practice,” admitted Haddow. “We had to have a few heart-to-heart discussions and show some tough love too. The kids manned up and took their medicine. My brother (defensive coordinator Bruce Haddow) was in the hot seat as well after the game. We all took the blame for that performance and moved on.”
Ironically, a potential rematch with Ballenas looms in the semi-finals. The Parksville school has to get past top ranked Vernon to reach the final four.
Argyle advanced to the quarter-finals with a 27-20 win over NVSS (Vanderhoof).
