Saturday was a banner day for the Abbotsford Falcons, as two teams from the local community football association earned league championships.
The Valley Community Football League finals were contested at Chilliwack's Townsend Park, and the Falcons atoms scored an upset, knocking off previously undefeated Meadow Ridge Gold 24-12. Tyson Kelly and Taejshon Catlin scored two touchdowns apiece in the win.
"It was a huge win for us, because we'd only lost two games all season, and it was to that team," noted Kelly Lochbaum, defensive co-ordinator with the Falcons atoms.
"We came out with a big defensive line and were super-aggressive. They had one kid who's a tremendous athlete, but every time he touched the ball, we had six or seven kids hitting him."
Winning the league title marks the end of the road for the atom Falcons, since there is no provincial championship in that age group, but the Falcons Black junior bantam squad will advance to the B.C. semifinals after beating the North Langley Bears 48-21 in their VCFL final.
Samwel Uko, Dylan Roach and Tyson Reid were among the offensive standouts in the victory for Falcons Black, who move on to face Kelowna on the road this Saturday.
"A lot of the boys have been playing together since their atom years," noted Paul Gervais, a member of the junior bantam coaching staff. "They've developed as a team, and we've had another few enroll that put us over the edge. They're a good bunch.
"This group of kids has won its league five of six years, and we've been to the provincial final two or three times. We haven't been able to bring one home yet, so we're hoping this is our year."
A third Falcons squad, the peewees, also played in the VCFL finals, but they fell to the Mission 9'ers.