The Windsor Wolves looked defeat in the eye before coming back to win the provincial football title.
On Saturday at BC Place, the North Vancouver squad beat the Vernon Panthers 17-14 in the AA senior final to dethrone last year’s champions.
Going up 14-0 in the first half, the Panthers were poised to repeat their victory, but the Wolves responded with a crushing offence push in the second half to take the B.C. banner.
Since play kicked off in September, the Wolves recorded just one loss – to Vernon, 21-0, in an exhibition game before the regular season started.
But after that loss, Windsor has been unstoppable. The team went 6-0 in conference play, and was undefeated against all the other North Shore teams.
In the post-season, the Wolves began by crushing Mt. Douglas 43-6 in the quarterfinal. Coach Malcolm Allen said that was the best game his team had played all year to that point.
“We controlled everything start to finish that game,” he said.
In the semifinals, Windsor faced Robert Bateman, which also went undefeated in their conference. The first half was tight, separated by just two points at halftime. But then the Wolves pulled away.
While Windsor had been a passing team for much of the year, often relying on star quarterback Emmet Ward, the team relied on the running game to beat Bateman. That effort was led by running back Brady Smith, who averaged 99 rushing yards per game in the playoffs.
'We just played better, executed better'
When it came to Saturday’s final, a rematch against Vernon, some mistakes in the first half made it look like the final could be a repeat of Windsor's loss in September.
But Allen credits his team's strong defence with not permitting the Panthers to take too much ground, which allowed the Wolves’ offence to respond in the last two quarters.
In the final, Samson Sachter was the team’s best player on both sides of the ball, Allen said.
“He led team in tackles, had a fumble recovery, receiving touchdown, led the team in receiving yards,” he said.
Despite the big comeback to beat the rival Panthers, Allen said there weren’t any many big changes to his team's strategy or personnel.
“We just didn’t make the mistakes we made the first time that cost us,” he said. “We just played better, executed better.”
Emmet, who has committed to play for University of Waterloo in the fall, was named MVP of the final and AA Offensive Player of the Year.
Allan McKibbon received the lineman MVP in the final. “He has been our best lineman all year,” Allen said.
Those two players were named AA Provincial All-Stars, along with receiver Xavian Washington, defensive back Omar Said, defensive back Colton Dickson and linebacker Sachter, who has committed to University of Alberta.
