Three touchdown passes by the quarterback and a missed extra point by the opposition may have accounted for the difference on the scoreboard in this year's Buchanan Bowl, but Handsworth head coach Jay Prepchuk credits his short-staffed team's grinding runs in the final few minutes with sealing the deal.
The Handsworth Royals led 21-14 midway through the fourth quarter of Saturday's matchup when the Carson Graham Eagles scored the potential game-tying touchdown but missed the extra point to make the score 21-20. With the Eagles defence fired up to get the ball back and go for the win, the Royals, finishing off a game played with only a handful of subs, strung together several first downs to kill the clock and seal the win in the 29th annual grudge match between the two North Vancouver schools.
"We knew it was going to be hot out - and when you've got a team of 18 kids, you know you just have to prepare the guys not just physically and emotionally but also mentally," said Prepchuk. "We had to make sure that these guys knew that they were going to be on the field all the time and you're just going to have to suck it up."
The Royals chewed up the clock with a drive that covered about 60 yards, ending the game with the ball still in their possession on the Carson Graham 20-yard line. It wasn't a highlight reel finish but it was great football, said Prepchuk.
"We pounded it out on the ground, right at 'em. Nothing fancy," he said. "The thing that I was most excited about was that we dominated the last four minutes of a game that the guys had full excuse to say, 'Hey, I'm tired...'. For the kids to fight through all those different things and come out on top was pretty amazing."
The ground game may have sealed the deal - Handsworth Grade 11 running back Leon Kyoyo ended the game with 20 carries for 110 yards - but the points all came through the air for the Royals. Grade 11 quarterback Sam Tholl completed 12 of 19 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns.
"He's come a long way," Prepchuk said of his young QB. "The thing about Sam is that he really worked hard to improve.... We worked together all summer and he has improved his passing and mastered our offence, which is not always an easy thing to do."
Grade 11 receiver Dane Hopkins was Tholl's favourite target, catching seven passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
Prepchuk also credited centre/middle linebacker Shareef Sadain and receiver/safety Jacob Ghazizadeh for doing the dirty work throughout the game.
Carson Graham was led by Grade 12 quarterback Tyler Nylander who completed 17 of 29 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, receiver Michael Kulic who racked up 106 yards and a score and running back Flynn Heyes.
"They've got a lot of great players," said Prepchuk of the Eagles. "They've got some great athletes and those kids played very well. They played their hearts out as well. It was one of those ones where somebody's got to lose. Fortunately for us it was pretty exciting to come out on top."
The Handsworth win provided an eerie mirror to last year's Buchanan Bowl in which Handsworth scored a potential game-tying touchdown in the dying seconds but opted to go for the win with a two-point conversion instead of a tie with the single. Their two-point attempt came up short, however, and the Eagles claimed a 49-48 win.
Prepchuk laughed when asked if this year's victory benefitted from some good karma from last year's bold but ultimately unsuccessful gamble.
"Maybe a little bit," he said. "When they missed their extra point at the end I did think back to that moment. Good on us." That the Royals Grade 11 players were able to step right in and play starring roles in this year's victory is a testament to the school's junior program led by head coach Glen Donaldson, said Prepchuk. "He's been great in working within the Handsworth philosophy and making sure the kids are really well trained in the
junior level, to make sure they're well prepared for the senior level."
Though they're relatively young and small in numbers, Prepchuk still has high hopes for his Royals at the AAA level this season.
"We've got a bunch of really hard working, determined, kind of football fanatics," he said. "They're at practice, they're working hard, they're attentive and they're very coachable. I think if we stay healthy we can do some good things."
Next week the Royals will be on the road to California where they'll play an exhibition game against Claremont High School. The Eagles, meanwhile, will go on the road to take on Robert Bateman Saturday, Sept. 26 starting at 1:30 p.m. In other upcoming exhibition action West Van will host Windsor Friday, Sept. 25 starting at 3:45 p.m. while Argyle will travel to McLeod Athletic Park Sept. 25 to take on Langley in a 3 p.m. kickoff.
