The Ballenas Whalers junior varsity football team is on a roll.
The Whalers posted another impressive outing when they beat Earl Marriott Mariners 28-7 in Surrey on Oct. 11. It was the second win in a row for the junior Whalers, who opened the season with an overwhelming 47-0 victory over football powerhouse John Barsby on Oct. 3.
Head coach Dan Smith said the Whalers played well defensively and offensively against the bigger Mariners team, whose quarterback also plays on Marriot’s senior team. The Whalers recorded a total yardage of 284, and limited the Mariners to just 177 yards for the whole game.
“The defence did a good job of containing them,” said Smith. “Overall, they really put in a good performance, especially being on the road and against a bigger school.”
Offensively, the Whalers focused on their running game, rushing for 188 yards and passing a total of 96 yards. Smith said that two players, Adrien Friesen and quarterback Ben Chomolok, had outstanding games with two touchdowns each.
The Whalers led 14-0 in the first half and, although they gave up a touchown in the third quarter, were able to extend their lead with two more touchdowns in the frame and one more in the final quarter.
The junior Whalers were back in action against Argyle Pipers of North Vancouver at Ballenas field yesterday afternoon. At press time, results were not available.
Smith said Argyle is a former AAA team that has come down to AA. The Whalers have not played against the Pipers yet. But they will be ready.
“The one thing that impressed me with this team is, they’re short in numbers but every week they come out to play,” said Smith.
Ballenas Senior Whalers tripped again
The Ballenas Whalers senior varsity team suffered their second Western AA Conference loss in a row, dropping a 30-20 decision against the Hugh Boyd Trojans on the road Oct. 13.
It was a tough loss for the Whalers, said head coach Dan Smith.
“We played a reasonably strong game for most of the game,” said Smith. “We had a couple of opportunities actually to finish some drives but between some penalties and just misfires on offense, we didn’t execute. We didn’t finish off a couple of drives and that left the door open for the Trojans a little bit.”
On the defensive end, the Whalers struggled against the speedy Trojans, who earned two quick touchdowns on long passes.
Quarterback Ben Robinson and Kolby Jack each scored a touchdown for Ballenas. Junior quarterback Ben Chomolok threw a touchdown pass to Joshua Rice.
This coming Friday, the Whalers will try to avoid another setback when they face the Argyle Pipers at Ballenas Field at 3:15 p.m. Smith said each conference game the Whalers play from here on will be of vital importance if they want to reach the playoffs. They need to win them all.
“If we win two of our three remaining games we may have to have somebody help us get to the playoffs by knocking somebody off,” said Smith. “The next three games are crucial. If we want to control our destiny we have to play well.”
The Whalers are hoping to have all their players for this Friday’s clash.
“It’s kind of challenging right now because we have six of our seniors sick right now,” said Smith. “If we have all of our players healthy, then we can compete pretty well against Argyle this week.”
