Style and substance have been two trademarks of the 2017 New Westminster Hyacks football team.
Those two elements were present in abundance Saturday as the New West crew outlasted the South Delta Sun Devils 52-45 at BC Place.
In a high-stakes game where elite talent was plentiful, New West got a couple of huge late plays from Grade 12 Sebastien Reid, with what proved to be the game-winning touchdown with 2:04 remaining, and a defensive stop that sealed the deal and ignited a celebration.
"I love the ball in my hands. We had a game like that against Notre Dame and I told coach just throw me the ball," said Reid. "I just love the ball in my hands. I owed it to (my teammates) because i let up a big catch on the sidelines, I'm happy to get a play to get us to the championship."
After South Delta had cut-and-pasted together an incredible rally to go ahead 45-44 with 4:27 remaining, erasing New West's 44-22 lead in a span of 10 minutes, Reid took a Kinsale Philip handoff at the Sun Devils' 40-yard line and sprinted left into the end zone. A two-point convert by Sammy Sidhu upped the lead to 52-45 with 2:04 on the clock.
As the underdogs made another dangerous drive towards the Hyacks zone, Reid batted down the Michael Calvert pass on a fourth and sixth play to end the threat.
"(South Delta) has three awesome players who make plays all night long so it was last man standing today," remarked assistant coach Clint Uttley, who stood in for head coach Farhan Lalji on the night.
The Sun Devils' top threats -- Calvert, wide receiver Billy Matwichyna and Ben MacDonald -- did their share of damage on the night. But New West had its share of spotlight plays, from Michael Kingsley's two second quarter touchdowns, including a 57-yard run, to lineman Yanni Angelopolous recovering a fumble, knocked from a charging Sidhu, in the end zone for another major. Sidhu scored twice, while Reid also pulled down a 35-yard TD pass from Kinsale Philip midway through the third quarter.
"Sebastien when he's focused is probably the best player in the province," noted Uttley. "He kind of sealed it tonight, he just played the game. He was awesome at specials and they started to kick it out of bounds (to avoid him). He was awesome on defence and had about four batted balls, and he had a couple of receiving touchdowns and the reverse."
While New West's offence doesn't rely on a lot of pass attempts, averaging a handful in most games, Reid established himself as one of the most dangerous kickoff returners as well as a reliable defensive back.
While a senior, Reid said transferring in from Tamanawis -- which has no football program -- was a big adjustment, even though he knew nearly everyone through his community football days. He was also very familiar with the Sun Devils, which made the win all the more special.
"I played with them since I was young, since peewee," he said. "(Calvert's) a great athlete, (Matwichyna) is probably the best receiver in the province or definitely second. They played tough and fought to the end. It was no surprise that they got up (late) but we just came together as a team and took it back.
"I knew everybody on (New West) mostly, but didn't know how it was going to go," he added. "We just got on a roll early and continued it, it was all because our coaches, all to our coaches. Without them we wouldn't be in this position."
The Hyacks now line up against the defending B.C. champion Terry Fox Ravens for Saturday's Subway Bowl championship, 7 p.m. at BC Place.
