For the first time in the program’s existence, the Mt. Boucherie Bears posted an undefeated regular season (6-0) in high school football’s Okanagan AAA Conference.
Members of the 2012 Bears would prefer that their legacy didn’t end there.
Boucherie will host the Vancouver College Fighting Irish on Saturday at 1 p.m. on the CNC turf, with the winner advancing to the B.C. semifinals on Nov. 24.
“We have such a good corps of guys on our team, they can feel it, and they know it’s a great opportunity for them,” said Bears’ head coach Mike Godwin. “The guys have worked hard for this chance.”
This will be the second meeting of the season between the teams, as the Irish defeated the Bears 41-28 in exhibition play back in September in Vancouver.
Godwin said Van College is a better team than it was two months ago, but so too are the Bears.
The Irish is coming off a 41-14 opening round playoff victory over Tweedsmuir last weekend, while Boucherie had a first-round bye.
“(Van College’s) last couple of games, they’ve been dismantling people and have been making good teams look pretty ordinary,” Godwin said. “(Running back Liam) Mahara is a beast and he’s hard to stop.
“At the same time, they do have some weaknesses. Our guys have played them before and it wasn’t like we were overmatched. We’re a better team than we were back then, too.”
To win on Saturday, Godwin said the Bears will need top-end efforts out of their best players such as Joe Court, Cam Spence, Curtis Urlacher and Peter Briker.
Still, Godwin assures it will also take a total team effort.
“It’s going to be challenge, it’s going to be intense,” Godwin said. “But if we do the little things right and a couple of breaks go our way, then it’s a game we can legitimately win. They’re a team that will take advantage of mistakes and mental lapses, so we have to eliminate those too.”
The Bears’ junior varsity squad is on the road this week as they visit St. Thomas More on Thursday. The Boucherie juniors defeated West Vancouver 33-13 to open the playoffs last week.
