Reed propels Polars into provincial quarterfinal
The South Kamloops Titans watched the video of last week’s P.G. Bowl Northern Conference high school football championship and were well aware of Braden Reed’s capabilities as a gamebreaker.
They knew the key to beating the Prince George Polars in Saturday’s first-ever double-A varsity provincial playoff game at Masich Place Stadium was putting the stop on Reed.
Easier said than done.
Reed put his faith in his offensive line teammates and their ability to rip holes in the Titans’ defence and that’s exactly what they did. Given the chance to use his explosive speed and powerful running stride, Reed proved unstoppable. He danced his way to five touchdowns and 272 yards in a 42-14 victory which vaulted the Polars into a B.C. Secondary Schools Football Association quarterfinal clash Saturday at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver against the Holy Cross Crusaders of Surrey.
“We started off slower than we thought we would and they came out a lot harder than us so it could have been a close game, but luckily we got our heads in the right place and we pulled ahead,” said Reed. “That offensive line unit is the reason why I’m successful and I owe it to them. They had a helluva game. They’re out there blocking guys and making my job easier.”
The O-line – Sasha Gajic, Josh Gabriel, Max Vohar, Zack Whitfield, Matt Shore and Grade 10 centre Jason Kragt – had a field day eating up the Titan defenders.
“On inside-zone runs they were just more powerful and stronger than us inside and we couldn’t contain or push them back,” said Titans running back/defensive back Mike MacDonald. “(Reed) was crazy. We watched the film. He’s a good player.”
The Polars held the ball for six possessions in the game and scored on all six. Each drive ate up large chunks of the clock which kept the Titans’ offence off the field.
“This was just a real tough grind-it-out game – they had a lot of physical players and we had physical players and we just kept pushing them over and over again and dug deep,” said Polars senior offensive guard/defensive tackle Sasha Gajic.
“It was our first provincial game here and we made history. You just want to play better for your home crowd, it brings energy into you. When you run out of gas and you hear them cheer, something comes out of me and it gets me going. It was my last game at home and I’m really glad I got a win with it.”
Reed also scored five touchdowns in the P.G. Bowl final a week ago and the Grade 12 honour-roll student is drawing interest from university teams. His dominance on the field Saturday was a sight to behold.
“Just the energy he brings and the class and maturity, I can’t put it into words,” said Gajic. “Guys are hammering on him every single play, over and over again and he just keeps it clean. He’s never worrying about getting back at them or getting angry or yelling at them or making dirty plays, he lets his game do the talking.”
If there was a turning point it happened with about eight minutes left in the second quarter. The Polars were leading 14-0 when Titans running back Ryan Zamudio took the reverse handoff and ran it 44 yards into the end zone. It appeared the Titans had made it a one-score game but the play was called back for an illegal block. The Polars stuffed the Titans’ fourth-down gamble and took over the ball on their own 23-yard line and Reed resumed picking the defence apart with his quick feet.
A personal foul penalty moved the ball into Titans territory and Reed took the snap and broke free for a 41-yard TD romp, then completed the two-point convert himself for a 22-0 lead.
The Titans scored on the next possession. Zamudio set it up, connecting with quarterback Eric Crawford for a 30-yard passing play, followed by an 18 yard run to the 10-yard line. MacDonald then ran the ball in from 10 yards out, keeping the Titans’ comeback hopes alive. It didn’t take long for Reed to quash them.
With only three seconds left in the half, after marching the ball from his own 33-yard line, Reed bulled his way through the pack and took off on a 28-yard run for his fourth touchdown of the day and a 28-8 lead and they never looked back.
“The offensive line is awesome we pounded it and had probably close to 300 or 400 yards on the ground and lot of it was right up the gut and a lot of it was for Braden,” said PGSS head coach Pat Bonnett.
“You can’t run the ball unless your offensive line is doing it, and I believe if the offensive line is firing out you’ll win the ball game. They have to dominate the line of scrimmage and they did.”
Bonnett liked the fact his special teams, led by kicker Brandon Martin, did not allow any long gains on kick returns and that they gave the Polars good field position to work with. The Titans had some success on pitches and reverses which moved the ball upfield and Bonnett said there’s plenty of room for improvement on defence, which they will work on this week practicing indoors in the Northern Sport Centre and PGSS gym.
Reed nearly had his sixth TD of the game in the fourth quarter when he honed in on a Crawford pass deep in Titans territory and had the ball go in and out of his hands, with not a defender in sight.
Michell ran 19 yards late in the third quarter for the Polars’ other touchdown. Zamudio found the end zone from two yards out to cap the Titans’ scoring early in the fourth quarter.
Already without fullback Gage Ridland (broken collarbone), the Polars suffered another tough loss nine minutes into the game when Grade 12 running back/ outside linebacker Gavin Murray went down with a knee injury and did not return. That put the onus on Gage Bernard and Brayden Michell to pick up the slack taking the ball in the backfield on the few occasions when Reed wasn’t on the run himself and they performed admirably.
The Titans replaced the Samuel Roberts Technical Titans of Maple Ridge, who forfeited the game due to a lack of players. South Kamloops was the third-seeded team in the Interior Conference.
“(Reed) is a tremendous player and a tough runner and they kind of rode him all night,” said Titans head coach J.P. Lancaster.
“It is what we expected and we prepared for it but it was a war of attrition and they chipped away at it and we couldn’t get a stop when we needed one.”
The Polars will travel to Vancouver to play Holy Cross of Surrey, the Western Conference top seed, at B.C. Place Stadium.
Earlier in the day, the Kelly Road Roadrunners lost their double-A varsity playoff 59-6 to the G.W. Graham Grizzlies of Chilliwack.