Duchess Park football back in the game

ball,” said Johnson. “It did take the heart out of our football program quite a bit with Matt passing away. He was always the most encouraging and most motivational person I ever met. He was brought kids out and got them motivated and when we didn’t have that, kids just kind of lost interest. It did have a big effect, but we’re slowly getting back on our feet here.”

The game was supposed to be played on the bright blue carpet at Masich Place Stadium and the original plan was to charge admission for a spectators to raise money for the Matt Pearce Memorial scholarship fund. But the field, which has been renovated for the 2022 B.C. Summer Games, is still not open.

Pearce, a former CFL fullback and Prince George Sports Hall of Fame member, died suddenly of a heart condition in January 2015 at age 48.

He coached the Condors when they played College Heights in the original P.G. Bowl city championship, June 3, 2004 at Duchess Park field. The Cougars won that game 2-0 on a safety touch, which set the stage for the revival of high school football in the city after a 33-year absence.

Grant Erickson was the Cougars head coach in 2004 and he now heads the College Heights junior team. He’s encouraged to see the Condors back on the scene and is hoping there will be sufficient numbers for junior and senior varsity teams at Duchess Park.

“We can’t lose Duchess,” said Erickson. “For some reason they’re having at tough time getting numbers out. But they can play exhibition. They want to use some Grade 11s for their JV team. They’ve got some inexperienced Grade 11s, but that’s OK. At least they’re playing ball and we have another team to play.”

That sentiment was echoed by the Cougar starting quarterback Oak Adams, who missed having the Condors pushing them to become a better team last season.

“It sucked, we need Duchess in this league if we want to make a go of it, we need better competition,” said Adams, the Cougars starting quarterback, among 22 returning seniors at College Heights.

The Condor ranks are still a bit thin. They had just 21 players for Wednesday’s game, about half the roster size of the Cougars, last year’s P.G. Bowl finalists, who had 38 players for the end-of-school spring gathering.

Condors coaches Craig Briere, Richard Bundock and Steve Porter have just eight seniors committed so far. When Pearce died, the Condors lost their in-school recruiter.

The core of the team he started coaching with Bundock, beginning in peewee community football, has now graduated. With the addition of Porter, an eight-year high school football coach who transferred from Kelly Road, the Condors will again have a teacher working in the school to help sell the program to new players.

“We definitely have some work to do,” said Briere. “We just have to pick up momentum after Matt’s passing. I think it kind of took the wind out of the sails a little bit.”

Lineman Connor Campbell and Adams are the only fifth-year Condors and Campbell knows the players will have to play an active role in recruiting to ensure they will have the chance to play in their senior year.

“I think we can round up enough seniors next year with lots of juniors going up and we’ll have a nice team next year,” said Campbell. “It’s really fun. It’s nice to have new faces around to teach and play with.”

Interest in football waned a few years ago at College Heights and that program came close to folding, but the Cougars are back on a solid footing thanks mostly to the players doing their own recruiting. They have a critical mass of players wanting to play senior ball with their friends and the numbers are healthy for next season. Kelly Road went through a similar cycle a few years ago and now, fed by a strong junior program, the Roadrunners have more than players than any city high school.

Two of the most promising Condors are Grade 9 students, quarterback Noah Lank and running back/receiver Jayden Jolley. In Wednesday’s game they both showed their speed and agility running with the ball on the slick grass field, but like the rest of their teammates were unable to punch Outstretched Duchess Park Condors player Noah Lank slaps the ball out of the hand of College Heights Cougars player Oak Adams on Wednesday afternoon at Prince George Secondary School fields as the Cougars and Condors met in the Matt Pearce Memorial Spirit Game. through to the end zone.

The Cougars scored on their second drive of the game. Hayden Matheson left the offence in good field position after he returned an interception to the Condor 40-yard line and a few plays later Marco Pandolfo scampered 25 yards for his first senior touchdown and a 6-0 led. It stayed that way until the third quarter when Gage Prince hauled in an Adams pass for a 29-yard major.

Not long after that the Cougars recovered a fumble and took over on the Condors 11-yard-line. Adams took it in himself on a a scramble to the outside for an 18-0 lead before the quarter ended.

In the fourth quarter, speedy backup QB Austin Adams called his own number on a sneak and went 20 yards for the major. Grade 10 quarterback Jerome Erickson got into the game late and hooked up with the Alexander Thanos for a 40-yard pass that took the ball to the five-yard line. On the next play, Thanos caught another Erickson pass for a touchdown that capped the scoring.

The Cougars resume practice Aug. 20 and they expect to be playing on the revamped Masich Place Stadium and its all-weather field starting in September.

“I really want to play on that field, it looks really good and I can’t wait until fall, said Cougars outside linebacker/receiver Dawson Day. “I think was a good warmup. Hopefully (the Condors) can play us next year.”