It was a scintillating weekend of North Vancouver football as the Carson Graham Eagles topped the Handsworth Royals in a screamer of a Buchanan Bowl while the Argyle Pipers made waves on Vancouver Island, knocking off No. 1-ranked John Barsby.
The Eagles and Royals battled in an all-time classic Saturday that came down to the wire with Carson securing a 49-48 victory. The Royals erased a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter, scoring their final major in the last minute of play to make it 49-48. Handsworth elected to go for the win with a two-point convert rather than kicking for a tie, and their bid for the end zone fell short.
Carson quarterback Mike Worthen had a big day, completing 23 of 29 passes for 370 yards and three touchdowns. Kieran Benedito caught seven passes for 124 yards and a touchdown while Lucas Bill hauled in six catches for 103 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Nylander had the other touchdown catch while also grabbing two interceptions.
Russell Tolentino led the way for the Eagles on the ground, rushing 23 times for 153 yards and two touchdowns.
Handsworth was led by Gerard Cerasco who scored four touchdowns while racking up 231 all-purpose yards.
Argyle, meanwhile, shocked the B.C. football world with a 13-12 road win Friday night over Barsby, last year's provincial AA champs. Quarterback Cole Theobald led the way for the Pipers with two touchdown passes, including an eight-yarder in the fourth to Paul Brini who made a slick catch to make the score 12-12. Kicker Nathan Avanti nailed the extra point to secure the win.
Nick Pearce also hauled in a touchdown pass while Jackson Washington led the way on the ground, rushing 15 times for 76 yards.
The Pipers now have a 4-0 record in Western AA Conference action and are proving to be a force to be reckoned with in only their third season of Tier 1 play since rebooting their football program.
Argyle will meet Carson Graham in a key conference matchup this Friday at 2 p.m. at William Griffin Field.
