The Ballenas Whalers senior football team needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive last Friday and that’s exactly what they got, coming away with a 30-6 win over NDSS.
With starting quarterback Garrin McDonnell back from an ankle injury, the Whalers took it to the NDSS Islanders (Nanaimo) through the air, with the strength of McDonnell’s arm, as the Whalers receivers made themselves available all game long for their quarterback. Brendan Haarstad had four touchdowns on the ground and caught one touchdown as well.
“Getting Garrin back was big for us,” senior linebacker and tight end Brody Seselja said. “He gives our offense the chance to be a threat through the air, which can in turn open up some space for us on the ground if the other team’s expecting the pass. We’re a more rounded team with him at quarterback, so it’s good to have him back out there with us.”
On defense, the Whalers stood tall against the Islanders, shutting down their running attack and getting a great effort on special teams as well with a blocked punt that turned into a safety for the Whalers. Seselja, Noah Wheatley and Jonah “Haymaker” Hay all led the way on defense for the Whalers.
“It was a huge win for us,” Seselja said. “I feel like we all felt the pressure coming into that game and used it in a positive way to get the win.”
“We’ve been struggling with injuries as of late, but we all stepped up and came together as a team to get that much needed win to keep the playoff hopes alive.”
There will be no rest for the senior squad, as they’re back at it in practice ahead of a big rivalry game against the Barsby Bulldogs.
The latest installment of the “Border Battle” will take place on Saturday afternoon, 2 p.m. kickoff, at Ballenas Secondary School.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun this weekend,” Seselja said. “Practice is going to be intense this week and I know there won’t be any shortage of intensity against Barsby on the weekend. We’re going to come in ready and hungry for another win.”
• The junior Whalers were at home Wednesday against their rival Barsby Bulldogs. In a game for first place in the division, the Whalers were down 14-0 early on. Down, but not out, the Whalers would march right back in, tying it up on a huge run from quarterback Ben Robinson.
After trading the lead back and forth the Whalers led into the fourth. With the Bulldogs marching toward the end zone, Robinson picked off an attempted Bulldogs pass in the end zone to seal the deal, picking up a close 32-28 victory.
The win gives the junior Whalers a perfect 4-0 record and with one final game against NDSS Thursday in Nanaimo, they could earn home field advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
