Preparation is a huge part of football, which makes the predicament that the Argyle Pipers senior team finds itself in this season all the more peculiar.
Just this week the Pipers learned that they were moving leagues, dropping down from the AAA for the province’s largest schools to the AA ranks. The sport’s governing body, B.C. High School Football, dropped Argyle and Salmon Arm to AA and moved Abbotsford secondary up to AAA after an executive meeting Wednesday. Argyle and Salmon Arm will both join the AA Eastern Conference, joining G.W. Graham, Robert Bateman, Holy Cross, and Langley in a league that formerly included Abbotsford, last year’s AA runners-up.
“It was a surprise to us. We had no idea at all,” said Argyle head coach Wayne Theobald. “We were all set, and then we got a phone call.”
The Pipers, in fact, have already begun their 2016 campaign, scoring a 27-8 win over Frank Hurt in their homecoming game at Argyle last Saturday.
“It’s pretty unusual, that’s for sure,” Theobald said of the in-season shuffle. “We’re scrambling around, trying to make some changes. It’ll be all good though.”
The move prompted mixed reactions amongst the Pipers. Some were keen to test themselves against AAA competition while others were happy to be back at the AA level. This iteration of the Argyle football program has been running for six years, spending most of that time at the AA level. Last year they were bumped to AAA but that switch obviously didn’t last.
“Competitively we’re probably more at a AA level,” said the affable Theobald, who seems to take an “it’s all good” approach to most of the obstacles thrown his way. “Some guys are pretty happy, some kids are wishing we were still playing AAA. Either way is fine with me.”
The league switch presents some interesting scheduling quirks for the Pipers, who will need to travel to Fraser Valley or beyond for all of their regular season games. They’ll also make two trips to Abbotsford in a two-week span to play the same team, Robert Bateman, twice, once in an exhibition match and then in a regular season game.
Theobald, however, thinks his team will be ready for whatever the AA level throws at them, as shown by the emphatic win over AA Frank Hurt Saturday.
“We played fantastic, dominated the whole game,” he said. “They didn’t really get much yardage at all until later in the game when we had some of our newer players in. It was good – we played really well. … The best thing was just the enthusiasm. Just the intensity for the whole game by everyone on the field was really good, pretty encouraging to see.”
The team is going with a quarterbacking tandem this season to replace graduated all-star Cole Theobald, who is off to the University of Victoria this year.
Grade 12 Christian Lawry and Grade 11 Mac Ward are sharing duties at the moment, with the Pipers continuing to play their wide-open style.
“We’re a typical North Van team – we’re not very big,” said Theobald. “We don’t have the big bodies to pound the ball, so we’re definitely more of an aerial team. And we like throwing it around too – it’s fun for the kids, and the coaches like it too.”
Other players expected to play big roles include receivers/defensive backs Aidan Pearce, Devin O’Hea, Ryan Agyagos, and Khoa Mai as well as linemen Hayden Davis and running back Aidan Cottrell.
The Pipers did win the AAA Pacific Conference title last season, but the move to AA does seemingly clear them up for a more realistic shot at winning a provincial crown.
Theobald said the Pipers were poised to make a run at the AA title last year before they were bumped up to AAA. Argyle handled Carson Graham in a scrimmage prior to last season, said Theobald, and Carson went on to win the AA title.
“We were kind of bummed we got moved to AAA last year because we were thinking we had a good chance – we thought we were probably the best in the province as a AA team,” he said. “We thought we were a better team than Carson – even though they’d strongly disagree – and they ended up winning the provincial championship. So last year we thought we had a pretty good chance. And this year for sure we could have a playoff run.”
Argyle will have a chance to prove their worth this weekend when they travel to Delta to take on Seaquam, currently ranked No. 1 in the province in AA. The Pipers’ next home action will be Friday, Oct. 7 when they host Langley secondary in their first regular season game of the year.
