Scooping up a fumble at the 20-yard line, New Westminster Hyacks’ lineman Evan Nolli picked up a rare touchdown to lead his team to a 36-6 victory over the Handsworth Royals in B.C. AAA football action last Friday.
Nolli’s major came in the first quarter, after Broxx Comia gave the Hyacks an early lead on a 27-yard run. Michael Simone converted Nolli’s touchdown, scoring the two-point play to make it 14-0.
Handsworth would counter on a long 92-yard passing play, but New West quarterback Kinsale Philip replied on a 20-yard dash.
Up 22-6 entering the second half, the Hyacks added to their lead when Comia broke free on a 46-yard play.
Grade 11 rusher Michael Udoy capped the offence in the final frame with a 35-yard run into the end zone.
The run game provided the heavy lifting offence-wise, racking up 254 total yards on the day. Michael Kingsley produced a team-high 107 yards on 17 carries.
On the other side of the ball, the Hyacks defence limited Handsworth to just 139 yards, including a minus-31 on the run side.
Nolli set the tone at that end, too, picking up four quarterback sacks and five tackles. Arjun Bal contributed four tackles, while Ajay Chol and Saahil Bhambra chipped in three tackles apiece. Bhambra also sacked the Royals’ QB three times.
New West, which travels to South Delta to play the 1-1 Sun Devils on Saturday (1 p.m. kickoff), is one of just two undefeated Western Conference teams (at 2-0), alongside Notre Dame.
