From where he and his staff stand, there still is a lot of work to do.
They added another 400-plus offensive-yard game to their record and put up a season-high 44 points.
But even at 4-0, New Westminster Hyacks head coach Farhan Lalji believes his players can do more as they head into the 2017 regular season’s final three games.
The big reveal in a solid 44-27 victory over the Notre Dame Jugglers wasn’t more evidence on how potent the Hyack attack is, but how the team needs to tighten its focus and discipline down the stretch.
“From the start of the game to almost halftime, I was feeling good about how we played, and then things fell by the wayside,” said Lalji, who watched a 31-7 lead get chiselled down to as little as 11 points before getting back in control. “We always had a two-score lead but (Notre Dame) kept battling, and we had three touchdowns called back.”
Few teams can afford that kind of flag infiltration, but so far it hasn’t hampered New West.
After Broxx Comia and quarterback Kinsale Philip teamed up on a 63-yard touchdown catch on just the second play from scrimmage, the hosts settled into the driver’s seat and sped towards another successful outcome.
Philip upped the lead to 14-0 with a one-yard push on the team’s next possession, and while the Jugglers got on the scoreboard with a 49-yard pass play, New West replied when Sammy Sidhu gathered up a fumble and scampered 63 yards into the end zone to make it 21-7. All that was in the first quarter.
They would pump up the lead with a 37-yard field goal by Zackery Northgraves and Comia’s 17-yard dash in the second quarter, while Notre Dame got six more points on a long run to wind down the half at 31-13.
In the second half, the visiting Jugglers got two more TD tosses from QB Will Clarke, with New West responding on a 75-yard kickoff return by Sebastien Reid and an eight-yard run by Sidhu. Sidhu also had an 85-yard major called back.
“(Sidhu) has been hitting his stride the last few games,” noted Lalji. “We put together a more balanced game (against Notre Dame) but the thing about Sammy is he’s always contributing on both sides of the ball.”
He posted a game-high eight tackles and three assists, as well as a pair of forced fumbles. Severio Abasa posted seven tackles, while Michael Kingsley and Philip counted three each. Notre Dame did create plenty of pressure, as evident by its 315 yards on offence. Tack on eight penalties – the same as Notre Dame was handed – and a few turnovers, and these are the areas that will be the focus for much of this week’s practice, noted Lalji.
“I don’t mind effort penalties, where you’re trying hard and maybe get caught a bit,” he noted. “But it’s the undisciplined, taunting flags that we have to put a stop to.”
Putting up 206 yards passing to nearly double his season total of 459, Philip completed nine of 14 pass attempts.
New West will get a chance to keep the win streak going on Friday, when they host 1-3 Belmont, 5 p.m. at Mercer Stadium.
“They have a real good receiver in Eli Nelms-Horton, arguably the best in the province,” said Lalji. “He scored five touchdowns against Van College and he’s someone we have to handle.
“He’s a match-up nightmare at six-foot-five, but our (defensive backs) have been very good, with three interceptions against Mount Doug and Seaquam.”
