An undermanned Meadow Ridge Knights went on the road and used a dominant performance on defence to beat the White Rock Titans 12-0 Saturday to start the 2013 bantam football season.
Head Coach Jeff Boyce said his team is looking forward to building off the success it had last year in the regular season and hopes it can push deeper in the playoffs.
The Knights finished the 2012 season tied for first place in divisional play with a 8-2 record and knocked off the perennial powerhouse North Delta Longhorns, the five-time Vancouver Mainland Football League champions, 22-21 in the first round of the playoffs.
The Knights fell to the Langley Stampeders in the semi-finals 32-17 to end the season. It’s a loss coach Boyce said his team used as motivation to start the season.
“That loss hit us real hard,” said Boyce. “We’re really looking forward to getting back to that game and exacting some redemption.”
Boyce said the shutout is part of a trend in minor football. He said defences are traditionally ahead of the offences early in the season and Saturday’s win emphasized that point.
The Knights’ hard-hitting linebacker Marco Bavanda lead the team with six tackles against the Titans
The Knights play their home opener Saturday at 2 p.m. at SRT against the Victoria Spartans. The Spartans are coming off a loss to Cowichan and Boyce said his team will have to be on its toes if it wants to win. The Spartans finished with a 7-3 record last year.
Boyce said while the victory was nice, what he is really looking for are some more players. The Knights, consisting of players age 16-18, are still accepting registration even though the season is underway.
He said players can email meadowridgeknights@gmail.com for more information.
Junior bantam
The Knights kept up the strong showing on defence with a 34-0 drubbing of the Chilliwack Giants. Leading the Knights defence was Tim Janke, Anthony Cameron, Josh Tatosky and Harrison Longhi .
The Knight’s potent offence was led by Brandon Hunt, scoring three touchdowns and Cade Cote scoring two. Kicker Jake Loftus had a strong day on specials teams, pinning the Giants deep in their end of the field and kicking two extra points. The Knights travel to Abbotsford to take on the Falcons Saturday, Aug. 7.
Pee wee
The pee wee Blue Knights fought to a 12-12 tie with the Chilliwack Blue Giants.
Quarterback Cody Hogarth connected with Ciaran Davies for several big yardage passing plays while Jakob Gullmes pounded out the ground game to keep the chains moving.
Defensively, Matteo Gallovich and Riley Rooney locked off the corners forcing the Giants offense into the heart of a strong Knights defence led by Luke Buss and Brayden Reed.
Riley Celino led the pee wee Gold Knights to victory in a 12-6 win over the Red Giants that saw strong efforts from Tyson Phare and William Ferguson.
Atom
Staying strong throughout, the atom Gold Knights took home a win as they defeated the Chilliwack White Giants 44-18.
Jaxon Smart and Aiden Sanderson played pivotal roles as the Knights’ offense marched down the field. Kian Parra and Mitchell Alcinay also played pivitol roles in the win.
The atom Blue Knights gave up a 42-36 heart breaker against the Chilliwack Red Giants Saturday.
Leading the offense was Isaiah Cavelli, Jacob Brass and Daniel Kalinich who all posted big gains with big carries along the side-lines.
Staying strong throughout, the Atom Gold Knights took home a win as they defeated the Chilliwack White Giants 44 – 18. Jaxon Smart and Aiden Sanderson played pivotal roles as the Knight’s offense marched down the field. Kian Parra and Mitchell Alcinay could not be over-looked as their efforts were focal to the win.
Solid defensive and special team efforts by Zackary Peers and Levi Spencer-Fell stopped some key drives to lead the Knights.