At halftime of their provincial community football semifinal on Saturday, the Mission 9'ers peewee football team found themselves in an unfamiliar position, trailing the Vernon Magnums 8-6.
It was the first time all season that the age 10-11 squad had been behind at the break, and Vernon expanded the lead to 15-6 with a touchdown on their first possession of the third quarter.
It was all 9'ers from there, though – they rallied for a 28-15 victory and move on to face the North Delta Longhorns in the B.C. final on Sunday.
"It's huge for the kids," enthused co-coach Dave Hicks, whose undefeated team has out-scored opponents by a total of 356-21 this season. "The pressure doesn't seem to get to them at all."
Tyson Black sparked the 9'ers with a pair of touchdowns, including a key kickoff-return major to answer Vernon's third-quarter TD. Riley Mills also notched a pair of TDs – one on the ground and one on a pass from Brayden Turner – while defensive standouts included Cody McMahon, Karl Von Einsiedel, Mason Schaufelberger, Keenan Baker and Michael Guitard.