The teams lived up to the hype.
Both Mission Secondary School’s varsity and junior varsity will be fighting for a provincial title this Saturday, a spot most prognosticators at the season’s start said they had the potential to make.
“It’s going to be a battle — a battle in the trenches,” said varsity head coach Kevin Watrin. The senior squad and its coaching staff say there’s a “bit of relief” in making it this far, given the high hopes in September.
“We felt we had a good team at the beginning of the year and now we’ve proved it. We have one more team left to test ourselves against,” he said.
The senior Roadrunners defeated the Ballenas Whalers Nov. 19, 34-14, to earn the right to face the John Barsby Bulldogs, the team to whom the AA local team lost in last year’s semi-final, 28-0.
The junior varsity team is aiming for its second provincial win in two years, as it wrapped up the regular season 10-1 overall, with a 9-0 record in league and playoff games.
The JVs beat Carson Graham 14-13 last week to advance to the AA final, in which they also face the Bulldogs.
“[John Barsby] have been dominant this year, having several teams forfeit rather than play them. They are 6-0 and have only allowed seven points against the entire season,” said JV coach John Kapty.
“We are certainly the underdog. Barsby has been absolutely unbeatable ... that being said, we have no intention of showing up at BC Place expecting to lose. I know the character and work ethic of the kids on our team and I am confident we will bring our best game on Saturday,” he said.
The JV play at 10 a.m., and the seniors play at 3 p.m. Both games are at BC Place.