Chilliwack: Peewee Blue back in the Championship; Bantam’s collective will

The Peewee Blue Chilliwack Giants will be playing for the League Championship against the defending Provincial Champion Abbotsford Falcons this Saturday. The Giants, who started the year with an exhibition trip to Nebraska, will be making their third straight appearance in the League Championship game.

The third place Giants (8-3) advanced to the title game with a convincing 34-13 win over the 2nd place Meadow Ridge Knights (8-2-1). The Knights top rated defense had only allowed 33 points against in 10 games this season. Running back Emilio Pineda carried the ball 24 times for 158 yards and 2 TDs while Ethan Mastin had 21 carries for 179 yards and 3TDs. The offensive line, led by Jake Troyan, Michael Lengert and Jaren Lengert opened some massive holes for the running backs. The Giants game plan was short yardage inside running – since they had been defeated 21-0 and 12-0 by the same Meadow Ridge team during the regular season. Running back Wyatt Uzick, previously thought to be out for the season with a broken hand, made a comeback for the playoffs converted to the wide receiver position and effectively neautralized Meadow Ridge’s best tackler the entire game. On Defense, Linebacker Gabe Mannes led the way with 3 sacks while the Lengerts, Troyan and Austin Kardux had great games on the defensive line. Defensive Halfback Brendan Piegsa, charged with covering the Knights top receiver, played the role of shutdown defensive back and completely stopped the typically effective Knights passing game. The starting defense only surrendered 1 first down to the Knights in 3 quarters of play. Adam Phillips and Evan McCracken were outstanding playing contain corners and completely eliminated the sweep option. Colin Campbell and Sureet Pabbi came off the bench in the fourth quarter and each recorded a sack for the Giants. The VCFL Peewee Championship game against Abbotsford kicks off at 12:00noon at Townsend Park in Chilliwack. The winner of this championship moves into the Provincial Semi-finals.

Pictured: Running Back Emilio Pineda #5

Collective will is like a freight train roaring down the track at one hundred miles an hour. Better get out of the way. When a team has players with will power, that will power can become collective will. It’s unstoppable, this is the Chilliwack Giants Bantam team. They overcame losing two quarterbacks, an all-star running back and a head coach and still ended up winning first place in the season and are going to the Valley finals. This is collective will for a team to overcome and not just finish the season but to finish on top and go to the final.

Three Chilliwack teams have advanced to the Valley Community Football League Championships this Saturday in Chilliwack at Townsend Park.

12:00 noon Peewee: Chilliwack Blue Giants vs. Abbotsford Falcons

2:00 pm Junior Bantam: Chilliwack Red Giants vs. Abbotsford Falcons

4:00 pm Bantam: Chilliwack Giants vs. Abbotsford Falcon Niners