It was within their grasps, but unfortunately Notre Dame quarterback Steven Moretto wasn’t.
The New Westminster Hyacks’ senior football season came to a halt Saturday in a tough 20-14 loss at B.C. Place, at the hands of the No. 2-ranked Notre Dame Jugglers and their star quarterback.
“Our kids gave a lot, but I think this was a game where we needed strong tackling, a couple of big stops, and we just didn’t get it,” remarked Hyacks defensive coordinator Chad Oatway, who was part of a crew of coaches calling the shots in head coach Farhan Lalji’s absence.
“All year long, we had big plays both sides of the ball. These kids worked so hard but today Notre Dame got the better of us.”
Containing the AAA Offensive Player of the Year proved too big a task, as Moretto accounted for his team’s three touchdowns and guided Notre Dame to within one win of its 15th provincial gridiron title.
New West, which succeeded all year with a deceptive three- and often four-pronged running attack, were well-contained until six minutes into the third quarter.
Down 7-0 after Notre Dame turned a first quarter blocked punt into the game’s opening major, the Hyacks came up empty despite a first-and-goal situation with two minutes left ended up stalled at the third-yard line.
In the third quarter, the Jugglers doubled its lead when Sacramento State-bound Moretto shucked off three tackles to bridge 11 yards for the major.
After the ensuing kick, New West flashed that break-out talent when Lucas Sabau took the hand-off at his own 39-yard line and dashed 61 yards for a touchdown. After Dancey counted a two-point convert, the race was on at 14-8.
Moretto, however, came back and restored the Jugglers’ margin with a 54-yard run up the middle to make it 20-6 with 10 minutes remaining.
An interception midway through the fourth quarter in Notre Dame territory effectively halted New West’s rally.
“Both teams fought really hard,” remarked Lalji, who while working the CFL Grey Cup weekend in Toronto, watched the game on his computer. “We matched their fight but they out-executed us.”
New West's season ends at 8-4 and for a second straight year in the semifinals. While the squad is saying so long to a number of players, including graduating starters like Liam Mackay, Josh Olango, Connor Pattison, Sarban Sidhu, Matthew Thind and Dancey, a number of elligible returnees will come in fueled by this experience, said Lalji.
"We're certainly in good shape for next year," he noted, adding the returning core are players who experienced finals last year with the junior B.C. champions. "It's always a lot more difficult to win in senior than junior. You can't do it with a couple of players, you need a larger amount of developed players and with the experiences they've had, both winning and losing deep in the playoffs, we've been developing players."
A trio of New West players – Pattison, at linebacker, Tjernagel, at defensive back and Gr. 11 running back Lucas Sabau – were named as B.C. All Stars.
* In junior football, the Hyacks run came to an end in the quarterfinals last week, when they were toppled 49-34 by Vancouver College.
New West battled despite finding itself in a hole early. In the second quarter, quarterback Kinsale Philip hit Evan Nolli with a 17-yard touchdown pass, followed by Michael Zhang's four-yard TD run before halftime. Philip would score from four yards out in the second half, while Matthew Lalim, on a 48-yard catch, and Broxx Comia, from seven-yards out, rounded out the offence.
New West finished the regular season with a 6-4 overall record.
