The Ballenas Whalers steamrolled the Windsor Dukes 41-6 with their strong running game.
The win is the Whalers’ third in a row, bringing them to 3-1 in league play. After dismantling the Dukes Saturday afternoon, Coltin Laplante was the first player in B.C. to reach 1,000 rushing yards on the season.
He put the Whalers on the board early, bulldozing one of the Dukes before crossing the goal line. Laplante rushed for 216 yards on 13 carries and found the end zone three times. On the defensive side, Laplante had eight tackles, a sack and an interception. Jonah Hay had three tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.
“Anytime you beat a quality program like Windsor you have to feel very proud of your team,” said head coach Jeremy Conn. “We dominated the first half (34-0). Our kids played great in almost every phase of the game. Our offensive line and running backs were able to keep the ball moving on the ground, even when they had nine in the box. It’s awesome when you know that they know what you are going to do, but they still can’t stop you. Our defense was also playing well , making tackles and doing our job at every position.”
With Laplante getting some rest from the running back spot, it was a running game by committee as they used the ground game to allow other players to put more points on the board as running back. Brody Seselja was in the quarterback spot after starter Garrin McDonnell was injured in practice, but the team rallied around him and didn’t miss a beat.
“We have a great offensive line and running back group that could carry this team far in the playoffs,” Conn said. “If we continue to get positive yards and take care of the football, we’ll be in real good shape going forward.”
Coupled with a Barsby loss earlier last week, the Whalers now sit tied for second place with the Barsby Bulldogs (3-1), with just two games left in the regular season. Building on their wins each of the past three weeks, the Whalers hope to continue their offensive dominance and stand their defensive ground.
“We played very well running the ball,” Conn said. “We were able to tackle Windsor quite a few times for loss on defense. That being said, we need to do better on our special teams and in our passing game. We need to continue to minimize mistakes and be more efficient.”
The Whalers travel to the mainland this Saturday (Oct. 25) to take on Sentinel. Then it’s back at home for a big tilt in their regular season finale, against the unbeaten Argyle Pipers (Nov. 1). The Pipers beat the Barsby Bulldogs last week to move to 4-0 while Whalers are in second.
