The Meadow Ridge Junior Bantam Knights won a provincial championships with a convincing 46-12 win over the tough Cloverdale Cougars.
The Knigths were led by running back Gavin Whittingham, who rushed for a pair of touchdowns, caught another on a passing player, and also took a kickoff return to the house.
Quarterback Sahaj Singh threw a pair of touchdowns, including one to Jacob Brass on a 30-yard catch-and-run play, and another to the mention Gavin Whittingham. Singh also was effective when he tucked the ball and took off, rushing five times for over 60 yards.
Wesley “The Beast” Latour pounded the ball up the middle hard all day, on multiple carries picking up key first downs. The offensive line played well as a unit, blasting holes all day for the Knights ball carriers.
The receivers weren’t just catching, they were also blocking well, setting up the edge for Ridge’s strong running attack.
The Knights mixed it up all day with the run and pass.
The defence was led by Ethan Gailey and Gabe Fitzpatrick who were ballhawks all day, making many plays at or behind the line of scrimmage.
Aiden Sanderson and Caden Sheffer also played strong games at linebacker, while Devin Crenshaw was everywhere from his corner position, knocking down balls and coming up to stuff the run.
The Cloverdale team they played in the provincial final was also considered a powerhouse, with a record of 11-1 coming in, and having averaged more than 32 points per game. They had three strong running backs, and looked dangerous on many plays, but the Knights swarming team defence kept them in check.
The Knights came out of the gate strong in the first quarter to take a 24-0 lead, which went a long way to securing the victory.
The Knights were a mediocre 3-2 at the start of the season, but strung together a great hot streak at the end of the year that carried them through the playoffs. They won:
- The Valley Community Football League semi-final game over Chilliwack Red Giants 38-20,
- Valley championship over North Langley Bears 46-38,
- Provincial semi-final over Victoria Spartans 42-0, and
- B.C. championship over Cloverdale Cougars 46-12.