The connections that carried this Windsor Dukes football team on an unstoppable run to the AA provincial title were forged more than a decade ago on a field populated by players not yet old enough to tie their own cleats.
It was in the famed North Shore GSL Football League that quarterback Ryan Baker first hooked up with Sean Werbowski, a future best friend and favourite target on the football field. In those mini games the two would often face off against two other young stars in Julien Perri and Ben McMichael. The foursome put their full forces together at Windsor Secondary where two years ago they combined to power the Dukes to a provincial junior championship. On Saturday their shared journey culminated in a 44-29 victory over the Abbotsford Panthers, with each of the four stars scoring at least one touchdown in the championship win on the big stage of BC Place.
“Ben, Julien and Sean, we played with or against each other since we were five,” said Baker, who earned MVP honours for the game after rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for two more. Having those high-power weapons at his disposal pushed Windsor’s potent attack all year, he said.
“It makes it a lot easier on me, I’ll tell you that. It’s amazing how good all those guys are. When we play teams sometimes they try to take away one of them and then the other two, the other three – they can’t stop them. Playing with those guys, especially because they’re some of my best friends as well, it’s amazing.”
Saturday’s game at BC Place was an intriguing classic, with Windsor’s powerful attack getting a big assist from a great game plan on special teams that worked nearly perfectly.
The Dukes actually trailed 15-8 late in the first half – their first score of the game came on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Baker to McMichael – but blew the game wide open with an incredible string of plays near the end of the second quarter. Baker set the offensive explosion in motion by scoring a short touchdown run on a long drive near the end of the second quarter.
Windsor head coach Jim Schuman came into the game with a plan of executing short kicks to keep the ball away from Abbotsford’s explosive kick returner and running back Samwel Uko, and following Baker’s touchdown run the team executed a perfect squib kick. The unsuspecting Abbotsford returner fumbled the ball, giving Windsor great field position. The Dukes capitalized almost immediately, with Baker rushing in from 33 yards out to take the lead for the first time in the game.
Incredibly the Dukes recovered a fumble on the next kickoff as well. Werbowski was the one doing the kicking and he had the Panthers completely flummoxed by his squibs and chips.
“The kicks were perfect,” said Baker, who recovered one of the fumbles himself. “Even when we were squibbing it or kicking it 20 or 30 yards, we were able to come up with the ball.”
Following the second fumble recovery Perri capped off a short drive with a rushing touchdown to give Windsor a 29-15 lead at the break. Heading into halftime the Dukes had scored 21 points in less than four minutes, turning a seven-point deficit into a 14-point lead.
“It was a huge change in momentum, to say the least,” said Baker. “Especially going into halftime, being able to talk about it and know that we had a lead and we could play with a lead.”
Abbotsford opened the scoring in the second half to make it 29-22 but Windsor responded quickly, with Werbowski hauling in a 57-yard touchdown pass from Baker. The quarterback then extended the lead to 44-22 with his third rushing touchdown of the day, this time from 49 yards out.
Abbotsford would add another score but the clock ran out on their comeback, leaving Windsor to celebrate their first provincial title since 2005, completing this season with a perfect 10-0 record.
“Everyone bought into getting the win,” said Baker, who was also named the provincial league MVP following the regular season. “When it was over, I mean, I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to celebrate with. It was quite the experience.”
Windsor won despite playing with a full roster of 23 players that was down to more like 18 healthy bodies by the final. A core group of players stayed on the field for almost the entire game, playing offence, defence and special teams. That core included a highly effective line, led by Mitchell Townsend, named the top lineman in the final, as well as Colby LaLonde, Christian Capuno, Samson White-Bear George, and Jeremy Sinclair.
“The small numbers made it tough, but at the same time makes everyone tighter, everyone has to be on top of their game,” said Baker. “I think it’s almost made us stronger. … I think it’s just the heart that everyone plays with. There’s not a lot of schools that you’d go to and see that dedication from every single player.”
Saturday’s victory gave Windsor their seventh AA football provincial title, following wins in 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2005.
