The Ballenas Whalers Senior Varsity football squad hit the road for the first time and ended up sinking the host Earl Marriot Mariners 42-8 in BC High School AA Coastal Conference action on Friday (Oct. 14).
The Whalers recovered well from their annual Border Battle setback against John Barsby Bulldogs the previous week as they took out their disappointment on the Mariners.
Head coach Jeremy Conn said the score may look lopsided but the game did not start that way.
“Things started off rocky as Earl Marriott threw some tough schemes at us that we haven’t seen and they passed the ball well,” said Conn. “Our kids were able to make adjustments and clean up some mistakes.”
Damon Stone opened the scoring for the Whalers with a 15-yard touchdown run with Brayden Harvey adding a two-point convert. The Mariners came back on a deep pass and strong running game were able to end the first quarter tied at 8-8.
The game was tight but the Whalers started to find their groove with Rohan Barlow intercepting a pass and was able to make a 38-yard return. Quarterback Brayen Jupe then connected with Carter Brett up the middle for a 22-yard touchdown. Kooper Chambers added the two-point convert to give the Whalers a 16-8 lead.
The Whalers scored again just before the first half ended with Barlow leading the way with another inteception that led to a 15-yard touchdown, increasing their lead to 28-8.
The Mariners offence struggled against the Whalers defence, which shut them out for the rest of the game. Barlow and Chambers were also key on the defensive end as each had five tackles. Harvey and Stone had four tackles apiece.
The Whalers kept their offence going, putting the game out of reach as Jupe found Barlow on a 24-yard corner route, Dylan Vigneault on a 5-yard slant and Cole Chislett on a 7-yard seam pass.
Chambers leads rushers with 12 carries for 105 yards while Jupe passed for 151 yards on 14-of-24 pass attempts.
Conn said they’re pleased to come out relatively healthy which will allow them to prepare for a bigger challenge against the Langley Saints at McLeod Stadium on Oct. 21.
“This has been a key game over the years,” said Conn.
Meanwhile, the Junior Varsity Ballenas Whalers still remain winless this season.
They suffered a heartbreaking 28-20 loss at home to the West Vancouver Highlanders in their AAA/AA Coastal Hybrid Conference game held at Ballenas field on Wednesday (Oct. 13).
The JV Whalers rallied hard in the second half but lost the game with only seconds left to play. The Highlanders tossed a Hail Mary pass to running back Christopher MacGregor, who despite triple coverage by the Whalers, was still able to snag the ball for a touchdown.
Conn said it was a tough loss but it showed how the Whalers have improved since the season started. He pointed out the Highlanders are a AAA team and commended the Whalers for competing hard against them.
“They’re a really good passing team and they’re passing is just as good as any senior team,” said Conn. “That No. 7 (MacGregor) is a pretty special kid. He had four touchdowns. We had him triple coverage and he still knows how to push off and make the touchdown catch.”
The Whalers did grab the initial lead after recovering the ball on a short kick. Rylee Wilson put the Whalers ahead a with a 10-yard touchdown.
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The Highlanders quickly replied with a long touchdown pass to MacGregor, who later scored again to end the half with his team ahead 12-6.
The Whalers bounced back strong in the second half and were able to lead again 13-12. The Highlanders regained the lead again 20-13 but the Whalers tied it up 20-20 late in the fourth quarter. With time winding down, the Whalers needed one stop at fourth down to force the game into overtime. But the Highlanders MacGregor caught a deep long pass that dashed the Whalers’ hopes.
“It’s game to learn from,” said Conn. “We’re proud of what we did. We did a lot of things well.”
Quarterback Markus Neugerbauer was 14-for-21 in pass attempts for 178 yards. Wilson had two touchdowns and had 16 carries for 111 yards.
On defence, Cooper Todd led the way with six tackles, with Tom Gabbaro making three tackles with one fumble recovery and one interception.
The Whalers will now prepare for their next two games, which they need to win to make it to post-season play.
“Because of a hybrid conference the next two games we have will be against AA and we will find out what we’ve got,” said Conn. “If we’re good enough, we go to the provincial playoffs.”
They will be two away games against Windsor Dukes this coming Wednesday, Oct. 19 and against the Argyle Pipers on Oct. 26.