HIGH SCHOOL
Banged up stars Kankolongo and Kremler return to lead teams in playoff thriller
Football is a game of attrition, and, sometimes, the game’s gods determine that its marquee stars are the ones who must take a back seat to the proceedings.
That was the scenario that began to unfold Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the Subway Bowl triple-A playoffs at B.C. Place Stadium between the defending champion Mt. Douglas Rams of Victoria and the No. 1-ranked Terry Fox Ravens of Port Coquitlam.
But Ravens’ running back Jeremie Kankolongo and Rams’ quarterback Gideone Kremler, each the star attraction of their respective teams, had other plans, despite the fact each was knocked out of action in the final five minutes of the opening half.
Kankolongo had an ice pack on his shoulder while Kremler with a team of trainers attending to his wonky knee, but both looked down and out as the third quarter began.
Yet as the fourth quarter began, each returned to explosive results, waging a mano-a-mano battle that ended with the Ravens’ 34-25 victory.
Kankolongo, who had scored his team’s first two touchdowns, didn’t even have his jersey on to begin the second half. To the surprise of all, however, he entered the game to start the fourth quarter and on his first snap back, ran for a 75-yard touchdown and a 27-13 lead.
Kremler, who hadn’t come out with his teammates to begin the second half, then re-entered the game and promptly threw a 23-yard TD strike in the end zone to receiver Dante Carbone to make it 27-19.
With 5:28 remaining, the Rams’ Grade 10 pivot struck again, this time throwing a short pass to Josh Lucas, who promptly turned it into a 38-yard touchdown. The Rams, who missed the PAT on their previous score, went for two but were unable to tie the game, trailing 27-25.
Of course, Kankolongo had a reply, this time breaking through a swarm of tacklers for a 32-yard touchdown with 2:11 remaining that put Terry Fox ahead 34-25. It was his fourth major of the game.
“I couldn’t just not play,” said Kankolongo. “So I got my (left) shoulder and I just popped it back in myself. I couldn’t quit on my team. These guys are my brothers and I would fight for them until I die.”
Added Rams’ head coach Mark Townsend when asked about the special play of both Kankolongo and Kremler: “That speaks volumes of not just their physical toughness, but their mental toughness as well. Those are two special players, and I couldn’t be prouder of my team tonight.”
Matt Shuen of the Ravens scored on a 70-yard kickoff return in the second half, while Lucas of the Rams did likewise with an 82-yard return in the first half.
The Ravens will now face the South Delta Sun Devils in a semifinal game next week.
Back in late October, the Sun Devils were coming off back-to-back conference losses to the Notre Dame Jugglers and the Vancouver College Fighting Irish and sitting with a .500 record.
Ever since, the Tsawwassen crew have reinvented themselves back into a provincial title contender, and on Saturday, it wasn’t just the fact that they won their fourth straight game, but the way they did it.
Grade 11 quarterback Michael Calvert threw four touchdown passes and rushed for another score as the Sun Devils built a 35-0 first-half lead en route to a 48-11 win over Coquitlam’s Centennial Centaurs.
“We were hoping to get a quick jump on them and we realized that we might have a bit of speed,” said South Delta head coach Ray Moon.
“We wanted to get things going quickly and make a statement. We wanted to take the air out of their tires.”
On their way to the provincial semifinals, Sun Devils did just that.
Grant McDonald, the team’s star running back whose midseason injury woes had contributed significantly to the team’s early slump, went 75 yards on the game’s opening play, placing the Sun Devils inside the Centennial 10-yard line.
South Delta fumbled. But Centennial, who recovered, also fumbled, setting up Calvert’s opening salvo, a five-yard touchdown strike to Max Stalling.
From there, it was a fireworks show.
South Delta went on to add four more touchdowns and lead by five scores. Calvert threw touchdowns passes of 43 and 23 yards to Billy Matwichyna, rushed for another from five yards out and also tossed a lateral to Doug Jamieson for a TD.
Matwichyna added two more touchdown catches to finish with four. He caught a 25-yard sideline strike from Calvert, who had expertly broken contain, and then he caught a 20-yard scoring strike from backup quarterback Ben McDonald with five minutes remaining for a 48-3 lead.
Centennial scored its only touchdown with 2:20 remaining as Max Kennedy fired a 22-yard pass to Keon Fuoco, then hit him again in the corner of the end zone for a twopoint convert.
For the full story from double-A as well as Saturday’s two late triple-A quarterfinals, look for the High School icon at provincesports.com.