Morning Star Staff
The VSS Panthers will meet the Duchess Park Condors of Prince George in first-round junior varsity football playoff action Wednesday night at Hillside Park in Kamloops.
Dave Tetrault’s Cats finished the Interior Conference regular season Thursday by bouncing the Westsyde Blue Wave 48-14 in Kamloops.
Grade phenom Ben Hladik sparked the Panthers with two touchdowns.
The Panthers took the opening kick-off and drove 90 yards, ending with a 10-yard touchdown scamper by Justin Haverkamp. Carson Lebrecque caught a pass from Keegan Vicklund for the conversion.
Hladik recovered a fumble and rambled 40 yards for a score, while Vicklund ran in the point after to make it 16-0.
Cornerback Liam Boyd broke hard on a Westsyde pass and intercepted the toss and romped 50 yards for the TD. Haverkamp plunged in for the convert. Zach Hyer took a reverse to the house and Vicklund finished off the half with a 20-yard run.
“We were ready to play,” said Tetrault. “Our offensive co-ordinator Ed Huber called a great game that the boys executed. Boyd’s interception was huge. It pumped up the whole team.”
The second half saw several younger Cats get valuable experience on defence. Hladik scored the final TD on a stellar pass from Vicklund.
Lebrecque was solid with eight tackles, including three for a loss.
“We are playing well at the right time,” said Tetrault. “Wednesday night will be a real test for our squad. We will take on a touch Duchess Park squad. They took us to overtime last year. We have to be firing on cylinders.”
