Football rivals keep each other in check
Vancouver College, New Westminster preparing for another ‘chess match’ on the gridiron
The Vancouver College Fighting Irish are back doing Vancouver College Fighting Irish things in the B.C. high school football standings.
The perennial contender finished an uncharacteristic 1-6 in league play last year and missed the playoffs. This week, they carry a 5-0 league record and 6-0 overall mark into a Friday matchup (7:30 p.m.) against the reigning Subway Bowl triple-A provincial champion Hyacks at Mercer Stadium in New Westminster.
Vancouver College is No. 3 in the current triple-A rankings, which you can read at Howard Tsumura’s varsityletters.ca. New Westminster (3-1 league, 4-2 overall) is tied at No. 5 with the Notre Dame Jugglers.
“I think the seniors got a lot of playing time last year as Grade 11s and they’ve improved,” Todd Bernett, the Vancouver College head coach, said when asked about what’s gone right this season. “This is a very coachable and determined team right now.” There’s a lot at play here. New Westminster is coming off a 38-35 loss last week to Vancouver’s Notre Dame and the Hyacks haven’t dropped back-to-back games since 2015, when they fell 49-21 to the Fighting Irish and 28-21 to Victoria’s Mount Douglas Rams.
As well, the Fighting Irish and Hyacks tend to have tight games. For instance, as much as New Westminster soared and Vancouver College struggled last season, the Hyacks beat the Fighting Irish 20-14 in their meeting, the second-lowest margin of defeat for Vancouver College in league play.
A factor in all of this is the coaching staffs know each other well. Hyacks head coach Farhan Lalji even spent two seasons working as a Vancouver College assistant before restarting the New Westminster program in 2003.
“It’s the most cat and mouse game of the year,” Lalji said of his charges facing the Fighting Irish. “We’ve got to put in a little wrinkle and then they counter the wrinkle and then we need to counter the counter.
“It’s a tough matchup for us every year because of so much of what we do well plays right into their hands. So you add those wrinkles, but you can’t add so many wrinkles that you get away from what you do well.”
Bernett added: “It’s clear that we know each other very well and it makes it a real chess match for the coaches.”
Lalji said the Hyacks will be without Kinsale Philip (foot injury). They’re hopeful he will be back for their regular season finale Nov. 2 against Mount Douglas.
Philip helps on both sides of the ball, evidenced by the fact the linebacker was second in tackles on the Hyacks last season and also spearheads their intricate wing-T offence from the quarterback spot when healthy.