The New Westminster Hyacks scored three times in the second quarter and went on to post a 27-6 win over the West Vancouver Highlanders in B.C. high school varsity football last week.
The Hyacks turned a pair of interceptions by defensive backs Angelo Tanjuaquio and Tristan Sands into scores and broke a 6-6 first-quarter deadlock with a nine-play 64-yard drive to hand their West division rival its third straight loss this season at Mercer Stadium last Friday.
Senior quarterback Tommy Robertson engineered all three drives, scoring twice on short runs, while also handing off to Julian Ramirez for a fourth touchdown in the final minutes of the first half to give the home team all the points it needed to post its second straight win this season.
Tweedsmuir opened with a bang, taking the ball from the opening kickoff and driving the ball into the end zone, helped out by three Hyack penalties, including an unsportsmanlike call.
But Jeremy Stewart ran the ensuing kickoff back 40 yards, giving the home team good field position on the West Van 43 yard line to start its first drive.
Robertson did the rest, mixing up the run and pass and garnering three first downs before Tanjuaquio scampered into the end zone from 10 yards out to tie the contest 6-6 with 3:45 left in the first quarter.
Tanjauquio led the Hyacks in rushing with 85 yards on 10 carries. He also led the team with two interceptions and in tackles with seven from his defensive back position.
Robertson ran for a total of 32 yards, while completing five of eight pass attempts for 64 total yards.
Matt Seymour and Gurveer Dhaliwal were Robertson's main targets, with two receptions apiece.
Wayne Palmer kicked all three New West conversions in the pivotal second quarter.
"We got a good push up front and we tackled well in the secondary," said Hyack head coach Farhan Lalji.
The coach also singled out linebackers James Nicholas and Bogdan Pavel for their outside containment, but the team's overall tackling was a high point, said Lalji.
"It's been our biggest improvement," he said.
"I was impressed with how West Van played V.C. last week. We protected the ball well, we blocked well and Tommy (Robertson) threw the ball well.
"I'm happy with the game when you think of where we've been the last two years. I'm enjoying being at 5-1.
This Saturday, New West travels to O-Hagen Field to take on the 1-2 Vancouver College Fighting Irish. Game time is 1:30 p.m.
