The Ballenas Whalers had an extremely tough and frustrating day in Border Battle 2024.
The Whalers hosted their longtime archrivals the John Barsby Bulldogs in a BC Secondary School Football Association game and ended up being blanked 35-0 in front of home fans at Kwalikum Secondary field on Friday (Sept. 27).
The senior varsity game went against the Whalers from the opening kickoff. The Whalers were expecting the ball to be launched deep into their zone but it ended up to be an unintended onside kick that Bulldogs Caiden Sokoloski scooped up and sprinted for a 55-yard touchdown. Abedalelah Aldarwesh made the convert to give John Barsby a 7-0 lead.
The Whalers quickly responded and were able to push the ball into the red zone. They were less than 10 yards from the goal line but after four tries, were not able to score. To make matters worse, with the Bulldogs having to start play near their zone, the Whalers defence paid dearly for slowly getting into playing position and when the play was called were caught by surprise, when Barsby running back Josh Mazur got the ball and ran with it all the way for a touchdown. Aldarwesh made the convert to give Bulldogs a 14-0 lead.
Nothing went the Whalers way after that. They had several scoring chances but were not able to capitalize, committing untimely errors and also taking penalties. The defence also struggled to stop the Bulldogs running game, which was the key element of their game.
"They were sleepwalking a little bit in the first quarter there," said head coach Scott Childs. "With a team like they're coming with a punch in the mouth. That's what happened to us. We had moments there. We had glimpses driving down. I think we were in the red zone four times. We just couldn't put it in there."
This Whalers remain winless and are now 0-2 in conference games. They lost their first regular season game on the road against Mt. Douglas Rams, 34-14 on Sept. 20.
Childs said every game is a learning experience.
"Failure is life's greatest teacher so you take a moment to learn from this," said Childs. "We watch the films; we learn from it and prepare for each week. If we are not improving week by week, there's no point in you being playoffs. That's what our goal to be in the playoffs every year."
The Whalers host the Argyle Pipers at Kwalikum Secondary field on Friday, Oct. 4.
Meanwhile the Junior Varsity Whalers will play their first conference game on the road in the second leg of Border Battle taking on the host John Barsby JV Bulldogs on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
