BC: Must see games of the weekend (Dec 4-5)

It’s the final week of minor football action this week as the BC High School Football Association and the BC Community Football Association wrap up their seasons on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, with nine combined championship matches between the two organizations. Read below to find all the match-ups this weekend taking place at Empire Field on Saturday and McLeod Stadium on Sunday.

BC High School Football Subway Bowl Championships

It’s Subway Bowl Saturday on December 4 in BC High School Football as provincial champions at the Jr. AA, Jr. AAA, Sr. AA and Sr. AAA divisions will be crowned at Empire Field. Tickets are available at the door for just $15 for adults and $12 for students/seniors. Children 12 and under are free.

The action gets underway bright and early at 10:00 am when the Mission Roadrunners do battle with the John Barsby Bulldogs in the Jr. AA championship game. Both teams are coming off impressive semifinal victories with Mission’s defence shutting out Hugh Boyd 14-0 last Thursday while John Barsby’s offence was flying high against Ballenas in their 30-18 win on Wednesday. The Roadrunners made it all the way to the finals last season but were soundly defeated by the Mt. Douglas Rams 61-21 in the final. They’ll be looking to make amends this time around.

At 12:30 pm, Vancouver College Fighting Irish tangle with the Mt. Douglas Rams in the Jr. AAA championship game. The Rams won the Jr. AA title last season and there’s no reason to believe this year’s crew led by Coach Mark Townsend can’t go all the way again in the Jr. AAA Division but the Fighting Irish, led by Coach Ten Hon Choo, will have something to say about that.

At 3:00 pm, John Barsby Bulldogs’ senior team gets their shot at championship glory when they face off against Handsworth Royals in the Sr. AA championship game. The Bulldogs are led by receiver Arthur Fabbro, who was one of three Bulldogs named to the AA Provincial All-Star team joining OL Zach Amstutz and DB Jaxen Wylie. The Royals’ offensive stud is running back Victor Sun, who also made the AA Provincial All-Star team along with teammate DB Kyle Kawamoto. The Sr. AA championship game can be seen live on bchighschoolfootball.com.

At 7:00 pm, the final BC High School game of the season takes place when two of the most decorated teams in BC High School Football go head-to-head with the Terry Fox Ravens, led by co-head coaches Tom Kudaba and Martin McDonnell, go up against the Vancouver College Fighting Irish, led by head coach Todd Bernett. The game will feature a pair of MVPs going up against one another with AAA Offensive MVP QB Cam Caneles of the Ravens on one side matching up against AAA Defensive MVP DL Christian Covington of the Fighting Irish on the other. This game can be seen live on Rogers Sportsnet Pacific or heard on The TEAM 1040 Sports Radio.

For more information, please visit www.bchighschoolfootball.com.

BC Community Football 12-man Provincial Championships

The showcase event of the BC Community Football Association season takes place on Sunday, December 5 at McLeod Stadium in Langley, BC with five games slated to crown champions in the Atom, Pee Wee, Junior Bantam, Bantam and Midget Divisions. Tickets are available at the gate.

The action gets underway at 9:00 am with the Atom Division final between the VMFL’s Westside Warriors versus the VCFL’s Abbotsford Falcons. The Warriors finished with the best record in the VMFL’s regular season and earned their way to the final by knocking off the second-seeded Cloverdale Lions in the VMFL Final. The Falcons, meanwhile, defeated off the Meadow Ridge Blues in the VCFL final to earn their spot in Sunday’s big game.

At 11:00 am, the Pee Wee Division championship tilt gets underway between the VMFL’s Coquitlam Wildcats and the VCFL’s Chilliwack Giants Blue. The Wildcats earned their spot by finishing first in the VMFL standings and then defeating the South Delta Rams in the VMFL Final. The Giants Blue defeated the Abbotsford Falcons in the VCFL Final to punch their ticket to the game.

At 1:00 pm, the Junior Bantam Division game between the SIFC’s Kelowna Dragons and VMFL’s Coquitlam Raiders will get underway. It was a tough road for both teams to qualify for this game as they not only had to become champions of their own respective leagues but win an inter-League semifinal contest to advance to Sunday’s provincial championship. The Raiders finished first overall in the VMFL standings during the regular season, defeated the Langley Outlaws in the VMFL Finals, and then beat the SIFC Victoria Renegades to earn their spot to the game. The Kelowna Dragons beat the Mission Lions to become SIFC champions and then dominated the VCFL’s Abbotsford Falcons in the provincial semifinal to make it to Sunday’s game.

At 3:30 pm, the Midget Division championship will be contested between a pair of Cinderella stories in the Victoria Spartans, representing the VMFL, and the Mission Niners, who are part of the VCFL.

The Spartans were perhaps the biggest longshot to make it all the way. They squeaked into the eighth and final playoff spot after finishing the regular season with a 5-4-1 record and then upset the undefeated Langley Stampeders (10-0) in the quarterfinal by scoring a shocking 14-12 win. They then went on to the face the third-seeded Cloverdale Bengals in the semifinal and scored another tight win with an 18-11 victory last Sunday to earn their spot to the provincial championship.

The Niners had almost as tough a road to the final as the Spartans did. They finished seventh in the standings during the regular season with a 6-3-1 and drew the 8-2 White Rock Titans in the quarterfinal but were absolutely dominant over a tougher opponent scoring a 35-15 victory. They then knocked off the fifth-seeded North Delta Longhorns 21-14 in the semifinal to earn a berth in the provincial final. The clock will strike midnight for one of these Cinderellas on Sunday at McLeod Stadium. Make sure you’re there to see it!

*Note: The Midget game was originally scheduled for 6:00 pm but was moved ahead to accommodate team travel concerns.

Finally at 6:00 pm, the Bantam Division final goes between the VMFL’s Langley Mustangs and the VCFL’s Chilliwack Giants. The Mustangs finished with the second best record during the VMFL’s regular season and then upset the top-seeded North Surrey Tigers in the VMFL Final to earn their way to the provincial championship. The Giants knocked off the Abby-Mission Falcon-Niners to be crowned VCFL champions and to earn their spot to the provincial final.

*Note: The Bantam game was originally scheduled for 3:30 pm but was moved back to accommodate team travel concerns.

For more information, please visit www.vmfl.ca or www.bccommunityfootball.ca.