The Mission Roadrunners football team enters the new season with different expectations.
In the regular season opener at Panther Field in Abbotsford on Friday (Sept. 20), the Roadrunners scored on every possession to trounce the Panthers 40-8.
Mission running back Jaxson Tennant found the end zone twice while Kaele Johnston trotted over 60 yards for a touchdown of his own.
Grade 12 quarterback Tristen Clarke tossed a pair of touchdowns as well with Nathan Sherwood and Matt Belanger on the receiving end of the long scores.
Roadrunners’ head coach Niko Jakobs said beginning the season with a win was very important.
“Although the score ended up 40-8, Abby Senior is a team that beat us last year and is always well-coached. We have a lot of respect for them, so starting our regular season with a result like that was important for sure,” Jakobs said.
Although expectations are higher, the second-year head coach says the focus remains on one game at a time to compete with the best teams in the conference.
“We will see where that takes us,” Jakobs said.
Players worked hard to improve in the weight room and on the field throughout the offseason. Jakobs said the 2024 offseason was the program’s best in a long time and sets them apart from recent teams.
“One other piece that is different from previous years is a big commitment from our younger players. Our program in general is seeing a large uptick in numbers, and to see the grade 9s and 10s working as hard as they are in practice makes our coaching staff extremely excited for the future.”
The Roadrunners remain young with the majority of starters in Grade 11. Tennant, a conference all-star last season, leads the ground attack alongside Johnston. Mission will also look to the connection between Clarke, Sherwood and Belanger in the passing game to pace the offence.
“Our goal this season is to be less one-dimensional and to be able to attack teams in multiple ways, and so far, we have been successful. That being said, our game starts with our linemen. Our line coaches, led by Coach Schneider, have done an incredible job coaching up our O and D-line, and they remain the backbone of our team,” Jakobs said.
Eli Goertzen, Christian McTavish, Angad Minhas, Austin Harris, and Steven Bowering control the line of scrimmage while the linebackers are led by Luke Walton, Nicolas Andrijaitis, Logan Scott, and Ayden McKeown.
The Roadrunners visit Earl Marriott at 3:30 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 27) for their second game of the regular season before their home opener on Oct. 4 at 3 p.m. against Clarence Fulton.