Friday Night Lights returned to Abbotsford in a big way on Oct. 7, with all three Abbotsford high school senior varsity football teams in action at home.
The Robert Bateman Timberwolves hosted the Langley Thunderbirds in a battle of two of the top teams in AA, the W.J. Mouat Hawks welcomed the Mount Boucherie Bears and the Abbotsford Panthers took on Chilliwack’s G.W. Graham Grizzlies at Panther Field.
BATEMAN TIMBERWOLVES - 48 LANGLEY THUNDERBIRDS - 0
.@Micah_Barker_44 gets @BatemanFootball to a first and goal after this pass from @nolanwatrin. Barker scored on the next play, Bateman up 7-0 on Langley in the second quarter @BCHSFB pic.twitter.com/hCchko7VVV
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) October 7, 2022
Two undefeated teams met at Bateman Field, but it was the hometown Timberwolves who left a stamp on the field and an exclamation mark early into the regular season with a dominant 48-0 win.
Bateman’s Micah Barker set the tone early, putting the Timberwolves on the scoreboard early on first and goal run. The previous play saw Barker gain close 20 yards off a screen pass by quarterback Nolan Watrin. Barker rushed for two more touchdowns in the first half and wide receiver Brady Doucette caught a grab for about 60 yards to put Bateman up 28-0 after two quarters.
The Timberwolves defence was strong all afternoon, including holding Langley to no points after Brody Hunter returned a kick all the way to Bateman’s six yard line late in the second quarter. After stuffing them on the goal line, the field goal attempt by Langley was no good.
Let’s go @BatemanFootball let’s go! 💚🖤🏈 pic.twitter.com/9iGxKAX0Dn
— Sydney Ned (@sydney_ned) October 8, 2022
The third quarter saw Langley’s Jordan Tomica gran an interception, but again the Thunderbirds could not punch the ball into the end zone. They missed another field goal to end that drive.
Bateman then picked up offensively, with Watrin connecting with Isaac Lynn to make it 34-0 midway through the third. Watrin tossed another touchdown to Colby Johnson to move the score to 41-0 and Lynn added a late pick-six.
The Wolves collected an impressive 427 yards offence (253 passing and 174 rushing) and limited Langley to just 87 total yards offence. Watrin completed 13 of 19 passes and collected 248 yards passing. Barker recorded 94 yards rushing, with Lynn adding 68. Doucette led all players with 85 yards receiving.
(AA #1) Bateman - 48
— Bateman Football (@BatemanFootball) October 8, 2022
(AA #2) Langley - 0@BCHSFB @BCSchoolSports @chatfootball @RobertBatemanSS
Lynn, Logan Thiessen, Jagroop Bagri and Conner Jack all picked up three tackles. Ewen Delisser added a pair of interceptions.
The Timberwolves move to a perfect 3-0 with the win and have outscored the opposition 127-42 in those victories. Bateman next travels to Surrey to take on the Holy Cross Crusaders on Friday (Oct. 14).
W.J. MOUAT HAWKS - 33 MT. BOUCHERIE BEARS - 18
.@mouatfootball with an onside kick attempt against Mount Boucherie on a “summer” #Abbotsford evening. Hawks up 14-6 in second quarter @BCHSFB pic.twitter.com/4lFAAXz9Lv
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) October 8, 2022
The Hawks rode the arm of quarterback Jackson Di Guistini and had key stops defensively to earn win number one in 2022 in AAA competition.
Di Guistini got the Hawks on the board early with a touchdown pass to Chase Heinrich. Mouat’s defence then kept the Bears out of the end zone on two threatening drives and the visitors had to settle for a pair of field goals. Gabe Currie then put the Hawks up 14-6 with a rushing touchdown and Sam Pratt added a touchdown of his own to have Mouat lead 20-6 at halftime.
Di Guistini ran in a touchdown of his own in the fourth quarter and Mouat led 27-6. However, that was when the Bears pushed back. Will Low grabbed a 25-yard touchdown and the Bears recovered an onside kick to march down the field and make it 27-18 when quarterback Ashton Davidson scored a major.
The win was sealed for the Hawks on the next drive when Derek Mora ran 20 yards to put the Hawks up for good.
@BCHSFB @BenLypka Varsity: Mouat 33 - Mount Boucherie 18 @jacksonxdiggs 230 passing yards 3 tds
— W.J. Mouat Hawks Football (@mouatfootball) October 8, 2022
Talon Trolland 3-84 1 td
Chase Heinrich 4-95 1 td.
Great team win.
Di Guistini collected 230 yard and three touchdowns, while Heinrich led all players with 95 yards receiving.
Hawks head coach Andrew Harder said he was pleased with his team’s win.
“I’ve been happy with our offence both weeks,” he said, reflecting on the early season results. “Assignment wise we are still missing a few and I think our run game can still get going a bit. Defensively we tackled a lot better today and fixed a lot, which is good to see.”
Harder said he expects a big year out of Di Guistini, noting the Grade 11 quarterback threw for over 350 yards last week in a loss. He added that Sam Pratt and Logan Kang-Vinnish will be important pieces for Mouat in 2022.
Mouat improves to 1-1 with the win, while the Bears fell to 0-2.
The Hawks next travel to Chilliwack to battle the Sardis Falcons on Friday (Oct. 14).
ABBOTSFORD PANTHERS - 12 G.W. GRAHAM GRIZZLIES - 70
Abby Panthers vs #2 ranked @GWGAthletics Grizzlies. pic.twitter.com/05hSUWc85U
— Pantherfootball (@AbbyPanthers) October 7, 2022
The provincially second ranked Grizzlies scored often and early to cruise to a lopsided win at Panther Field.
The Chilliwack-based school bounced back big after a 28-23 loss to Vancouver College on Oct. 1.
The Panthers fall to 0-2 on the season and aim to bounce back when they host Mount Boucherie on Saturday (Oct. 15).
The team has announced that they will be unveiling a special records sign prior to the game, which will feature many of the records set by some of the program’s greats including NFL player Chase Claypool and running back Samwel Uko.
That game kicks off at 1:30 p.m.
For more, visit bchighschoolfootball.com.
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