Despite missing several key starters, the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers emerged victorious at home Oct. 27 in a football game against the visiting Kelowna Owls.
The Panthers defeated their in-conference competitors in a close game, 14-11.
The Tweedy squad was missing both their starting quarterback and starting center, among several others. The team’s starting tailback also left the game early after re-aggravating a previous injury.
“I was pleased with the whole team for their great effort and commitment to each other,” said Nick Kawaza, head coach. “It was great to see the seniors go out with a win in their senior-night celebration of their last home game on their school’s field.”
Kawaza added that several players stepped up to make key contributions toward the winning effort when many other starters were either sick or injured.
Notable performances were turned in by: Keaton McPherson, who secured a vital fumble recovery; Justin Tegart who delivered a bone-jarring hit; Eli Melnyk was “stingy in the secondary” and offered a “shutdown performance” at DB; and Grade 10 quarterback Chase Thurston put in an impressive performance under pressure filling in for the injured starter Jack Roberts.
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“It was a hard-fought battle,” noted team equipment manager, and Lord Tweedsmuir teacher, Walter van Halst. “They were missing key starters and had to fight through some injuries, but the kids’ overall gameplay was very impressive.”
The Panthers running engine was again powered by the gutsy effort of tailback Jaxson “The Real Deal” Allan. Allan, a senior, scored yet another touchdown in the game and leads all running backs in the province in yards per carry, averaging 12.48 per carry, for anyone with more than 20 carries. He eventually left the game after scoring.
“The Real Deal was nursing an injury from the previous week,” explained van Halst. “So he played, scored, and was taken out because he re-aggravated his sore ankle during the game.”
Fellow senior Tyson Galye outpaced all Kelowna defenders on a jet sweep carry from left to right to record the other major of the game, as he tucked the pigskin inside the pylon for six. He also added both PATs as the teams placekicker.
Grade 9 offensive guard Finn Meberg made innumerable blocks against Kelowna’s defensive linemen—kids two and three years older than Meberg and kids who outweighed him by 100 pounds.
With the pivotal Eastern Conference win, Tweedy extended their league record to 4-1. The Owls dropped to 3-2 with the loss. Tweedsmuir has one game left before playoffs.
Defensive Coach and LT alumnus Mike Carter said he “was amazed” with how hard the players worked to overcome Kelowna by three points. Carter noted the win puts the Panthers in a position to capture a conference title in their final game of the regular season.
The Panthers travel to Chilliwack Nov. 3 to face the G.W. Graham Grizzlies. The winner will enter the B.C. High School Football playoffs as Conference Champions.
G.W. Graham is currently on a 4-game win streak, while Tweedy is currently on a 3-game win streak. The teams kick off at 7 p.m. at Exhibition Stadium in Chilliwack.