MISSION – 29 ABBOTSFORD – 8
The Abbotsford Panthers return to AAA play wasn’t a memorable one.
The club traveled to Mission, and had struggles both offensively and with turnovers, eventually falling 29-8 to the Roadrunners.
Fighting wet conditions, Abbotsford’s offence came up limp in the first half and Mission took a 14-0 lead into halftime.
The Roadrunners added two more majors in the second half, before David Coronado recovered a fumble in the end zone to put the Panthers on the board.
Abbotsford head coach Jay Fujimura said his team couldn’t overcome a shaky first half.
“We came out pretty flat and couldn’t get anything going offensively,” he said. “And we couldn’t slow them down much in the first half.”
Fujimura said the Panthers settled down as the game wore on, and things looked to be trending positively for Abbotsford in the second half. They recovered an onside kick to open the third quarter, but then turned the ball over on the very next play.
“We just weren’t in sync,” he said. “Guys were dropping balls and we didn’t capitalize on turnovers – it’s hard to win like that.”
The Panthers had several other chances to score, but turned the ball over on downs or through fumbles in the second half.
Abbotsford next hosts Kelowna on Sept. 28 at 3 p.m.
NANAIMO DISTRICT – 7 W.J. MOUAT – 0
A defensive war in Nanaimo saw the W.J. Mouat Hawks suffer their first loss of the season.
The two teams were scoreless well into the fourth quarter, and the Hawks defence stymied Nanaimo five times in the red zone.
Mouat couldn’t generate any offence on their own and now drop to 2-1 on the season.
The Hawks next host Spectrum on Sept. 28 at 2 p.m.
ROBERT BATEMAN – 27 WESTSYDE – 0
The Robert Bateman Timberwolves bounced back after a loss last week to down Westsyde in exhibition play.
The Wolves got touchdowns from quarterback Logan McDonald, wide receiver Ryan Sztuhar and Andres Guzman. Sam Davenport added a pair of field goals in the win.
Bateman led 13-0 at the half, and cruised to the shutout win.
The Timberwolves wrap up the exhibition schedule on Sept. 28 when they host John Barsby. They open the regular season on Oct. 12 in Chilliwack against G.W. Graham. The club’s home opener is on Oct. 19, when Frank Hurt comes to town.
For more on all the teams, visit bchighschoolfootball.com.
