State of the gridiron nation: What’s next for high school football in B.C.?

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The folks in charge of B.C. high school football are pleased with how things for them are trending, and guys like Michael Carter among the reasons for that.

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Carter is head coach for Surrey’s Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers and he guided the team to the school’s first-ever Triple A football provincial crown Sunday night at B.C. Placeas the No. 2 seeds came from behind to beat the No. 1 W.J. Mouat Hawks of Abbotsford by a 26-21 count.

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Carter is 29 and a former Lord Tweedsmuir player who’s leading the team at his alma mater. It’s difficult to come up with any hard data, but anecdotally there does seem to be an influx of younger coaches working with football programs these days.

Things like that help make high school football a good news story in this era, and especially when you put it next to items like SFU cutting teams to make their budgets work or the feuding between high school basketball and club basketball in the province.

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“We have several young coaches,” Carter said of the Panthers staff alone, “but the long volunteer hours and the commitment makes it tough. University, family, spouses all play a big factor in it. Generally, I’d say there’s a willingness and a want to give back to the community. I had one of my players say to me yesterday that he’d love to come back and coach.”

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According to B.C. School Sports executive director Jordan Abney, there are five new programs at the junior varsity level: Salmon Arm/J.L. Jackson, Valleyview (Kamloops), Seaton (Vernon), Kalamalka (Vernon) and Pleasant Valley/AL Fortune (Enderby/Armstrong. As well, Chilliwack has designs on starting a JV team next fall, and having a varsity squad by 2029.

Football player registration was down this fall, coming in at 2,849 after finishing at 3,038 last year, according to Abney. It’s still dramatically better than the 2019 season, when there were 2,592 players registered.

“Football is the ultimate team sport. There’s a position for any kid,” Carter said.

B.C. Secondary Schools Football Association (BCSSFA) president Zac Kremler, who had three sons play for Victoria’s Mt. Douglas Rams, added: “There’s something that happens with friendships in football. There’s something you go through. It’s not like other sports. I played a lot of other sports. I never played football. I’ve never felt like what I hear my boys talk about.”

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Those in charge of high school football are also still finding ways to afford to have playoff games at B.C. Place. No one will get into exact costs, but it’s easy to suggest it’s significant. The game between Lord Tweedsmuir and W.J. Mouat drew an estimated crowd of 1,500.

The No. 1 ranked Vernon Panthers took the Double A provincial title in the earlier game Sunday at the dome, thanks to a 41-0 romp over the No. 3 Argyle Pipers of North Vancouver.

“This venue is special to the players,” BCSSFA vice-president Conrad Deugau said. “It has a cool feel to it.

“It’s where the pros play, but it also has that ‘this is different.’”

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The Lord Tweedsmuir win brought some engaging theatre. W.J. Mouat was leading 21-20 and on the verge of adding to it with just over seven minutes to, with the ball deep in Panther territory. They opted to go for it on a 4th-and-5 from the Lord Tweedsmuir six-yard line and ended up turning ball over on downs, thanks to quarterback Elijah Black being brought down from behind by Mekhi Mindigall on a draw play before Black could gain the necessary yardage.

The Panthers clinched the win when quarterback Chase Thurston connected with receiver Tristan Dominguez down the left flank for a 25-yard touchdown with 1:17 showing on the clock. Their attempt for a two-point convert was thwarted, but defensive back Carter Gill recorded an interception on the ensuing W.J. Mouat possession to salt things away.

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The Hawks had come into the game with a 13-0 record, which included a 41-33 triumph over the Panthers in Week 2 on Sept. 5. They had beaten the New Westminster Hyacks 76-53 in the playoff quarterfinals on Nov. 14 in what’s been tagged as the highest scoring game in provincial high school history.

W.J. Mouat was looking for their first title since 2011.

Lord Tweedsmuir ends up 10-2. They also dropped a 26-21 decision to Burnaby’s St. Thomas More Knights on Oct. 17. They beat the Vancouver College Fighting Irish 28-23 in last week’s semifinals. The Fighting Irish were three-time reigning Triple A champions.

“I’ve been involved in this program since 2009 as a player and now as a coach, this is unbelievable,” Carter said afterwards. “It’s a public school from Surrey, it’s hard to find the words but this is massive. These kids work so hard and the community has been really behind them the last few years.”

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North Vancouver’s Windsor Wolves had kept Vernon from a repeat title last year by defeating them 17-14 in the finale. The Panthers also won it all in 2019. Vernon was 11-0 this season, outscoring their opponents 287-47 in the final nine games.

Boys basketball (13,843) and girls volleyball (13,713) are the top teams in participants in the high school, according to Abney. Track and field (11,887) sits third.

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SEwen@postmedia.com

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