The 2021 Border Battle was won by the John Barsby Bulldogs.
The B.C. Secondary Schools Football Association (Double-A Coastal Division) clash between longtime rivals Barsby out of Nanaimo and Parksville’s Ballenas Whalers on Friday, Oct. 8 produced yet another exciting game, with the hosts coming out on top 36-30.
“This was one of the classics in the long history of Border Battle games between Ballenas and John Barsby,” said Bulldogs coach Rob Stevenson. “Both teams like to win and they left it all on the field. Guys on both teams made some great plays. It was fun to be a part of. A couple of grey hairs on my beard at the end of it but I am happy for our players and coaches. They worked so hard for this.”
Head coach Dan Smith said the Whalers committed too many costly errors.
“We made crucial mistakes in all levels of the game today and I’ll say even in coaching because there were some things we could have done better,” said Smith.
“And you just can’t do that against an opportunistic team like this. They’ll just capitalize and that’s what they did. We beat ourselves today. As the old saying goes, ‘we looked around and the enemy is us.’ That is what it was today. We beat ourselves, not to take anything away from their efforts.”
RELATED: More photos from the game here
The Whalers showed promise from the start when they quickly moved the ball to the Barsby 5-yard line. But they fumbled and the host team took advantage as they went on to score the first touchdown.
It didn’t take long for the Whalers to respond, with Kyle Kearns catching a 25-yard touchdown pass and Ryker Sansbury added the two-point convert.
The Whalers committed another crucial error when they roughed the Bulldogs punter on fourth down. The Bulldogs scored again to increase their lead to 13-8.
Sansbury got the Whalers the lead 14-13 when he scored on a quarterback sneak late in the second quarter. On the next play, Reme Conway recovered an onside kick but time ran out in the half before the Whalers could score.
When the game resumed, the Bulldogs made the Whalers pay for a number of passing errors, turning them into touchdowns to put them ahead 36-14. The Whalers rallied with Sansbury connecting a five-yard touchdown pass to Conway with Ayden Chambers completing the two-point convert to make it 36-22.
The Whalers were able to close the gap to 36-30 when Brayden Jupe scored and Chambers adding the two-point conversion.
With time winding down, Jupe recovered an onside kick that gave Ballenas one last attempt. A long pass attempt, however, ended up in the hands of the Bulldogs.
Jupe passed for 191 yards, had a touchdown and four interceptions while Sansbury finished with 5-for-9 for 130 yards, rushed seven times for 51 yards and caught three passes for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Chambers ended the day carrying the ball 16 times for 149 yards. Gage Delerma caught the ball four times for 81 yards while Kearns snagged the ball six times for 68 yards and one touchdown.
Conway had six catches for 66 yards and a TD.
On defence, towering Whalers lineman Enzo Agostini had six tackles, while Jonah Anderson, Rio Shoda-Dooher and Carter Brett had five each, Will Dubesky four, and Conway had three tackles and a fumble recovery.
The senior Whalers hit the road this coming week to face Windsor Secondary Lancers on Friday, Oct. 15 at 3 p.m.
The junior varsity Whalers were not able to play their Border Battle against the Bulldogs last week as they weren’t able to field enough players due to injuries.
They will next host the junior Windsor Lancers at Ballenas on Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 3:30 p.m.