The Handsworth Royals got their season off to a strong start Saturday as senior high school football kicked off on the North Shore.
The AAA Royals scored a 19-6 win over Chilliwack’s G.W. Graham Grizzlies, the No. 3-ranked AA team in the province.
“I was really proud of the guys to come out with a win. We played against a real physical team,” said head coach Jay Prepchuk. “The guys battled hard. … (The Grizzlies) are a tough team. They’re big, strong physical kids that are well coached.”
Handsworth was led by the air attack of quarterback Sam Tholl and receiver Dane Hopkins. Hopkins caught nine passes for 105 yards and a touchdown while Tholl racked up 259 passing yards and two touchdowns, completing 15 of 28 attempts.
“He had a good off-season, worked hard on his training. We’re excited to have him back as our quarterback and leader,” Prepchuk said of Tholl. “He’s still got lots to do – like all the players do – but he’s certainly got a strong arm and we feel like he can keep on improving.”
Both Tholl and Hopkins are Grade 12 players who played big roles last season.
“They have a pretty good matchup, those two,” said Prepchuk. “It’s nice to see that those two can work together, nice that they can have a second year in a row in senior.”
Evan Currie also caught a touchdown in the win over the Grizzlies while Leon Kyoya added another score on the ground. The Royals also got impressive results from their defensive crew, who combined to snag five interceptions. The picks came out of a game plan to force the quarterback to make quick throws under pressure, said Prepchuk
“Our interceptions are a result of team defence,” he said. “They’re not just a result of one guy jumping up and catching it. It’s a result of the defensive line putting a lot of pressure on this guy. We made him throw it off his back foot and he just kind of slung it into the air. It was a jump ball and our guys in the defensive secondary are pretty athletic.”
Before the game there was some concern about the Handsworth field after someone drove on the grass last weekend, ripping up some turf. Parents and players repaired the damage, however, and the game went on as planned.
“The field was fine,” said Prepchuk.
The Royals now turn their attention to the Buchanan Bowl, the annual grudge match against Carson Graham. The Eagles won the AA provincial title last year but were bumped up to AAA this season. Carson started this season with a 47-24 win over Washington’s White Swan high school before falling 8-7 on the road against Abbotsford’s W.J. Mouat Hawks Friday.
“Carson is a good, tough team,” said Prepchuk. “They’re well coached, they’ve got confidence still from last year’s provincial championship.”
If recent history holds, the Buchanan Bowl should be a barnburner. The game has been decided by just one point in each of the past two seasons, with Carson winning by one in 2014 and Handsworth returning the favour last season. The grudge match usually brings out the best in both teams, said Prepchuk.
“Both teams will be emotionally charged up and both teams will be ready to fly around and make things happen,” he said. “It’s a matter of keeping your emotions intact and being able to execute in a game like that, especially when you’re playing against a team that you’re so evenly matched with. The team that’s going to make fewer mistakes is the one that’s going to be on top.”
The senior Buchanan Bowl kicks off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Carson Graham. The Handsworth and Carson Graham juniors will get things started with 10:30 a.m. matchup.
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In other North Shore gridiron action the Argyle Pipers put on a show in their annual homecoming game Saturday, topping the Frank Hurt Hornets 27-8 in front of approximately 400 fans. Quarterback Christian Lawry rushed for 120 yards and scored two touchdowns while Ben Marshal, playing in his first ever game, caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Mac Ward. Shawn Avantini also scored on a 25-yard run.
The Pipers held the Hornets to 140 yards of offence on the day, with Braeden Ewuk leading the Argyle defense with 12 tackles while Devin O’Hea had two interceptions and Aidan Cottrell had two sacks. The Pipers go on the road to play Seaquam this weekend.
In Surrey the Holy Cross Crusaders scored a 41-24 win over the visiting Windsor Dukes. The Dukes held an 18-6 lead early in the third quarter but the host team fought back hard, outscoring Windsor 35-6 the rest of the way.
In West Vancouver the host Highlanders fell 18-6 against the Centennial Centaurs. The Highlanders will make the trip to Windsor to play the Dukes in an all-North Shore battle Friday starting at 3:45 p.m.
