Pigskin officially touched down in P-ville last Thursday afternoon as Ballenas Secondary School’s Jr. Varsity Whalers hosted the Nanaimo District Secondary School Islanders.
The blue and white came up on the short end of a 14-13 final on this day, but co-head coach Jim Lynch said the young Whalers showed plenty of moxy.
“We played with only 15 players, and a lot of the kids were playing their first game at this level so they were playing very hard. It was a hard-fought game … it was a game we could have won.”
Coltin Laplante broke through the Islander defence and ran one in around the right side from 25 yards out and the Whalers took a 7-6 lead into the half. Grade 10 player Cobby Stubbins showed strong leadership in his first start at quarterback defensive end Nick Cessboard anchored the defence with a great effort (he also suited up for the seniors on Saturday).
“We’ve got some good players … we could use a couple more players, but we’ll be fine,” said Lynch.
GAME ON
The JV Whalers are on the road Saturday to West Van for non-conferance game against the AAA Highlanders as part of a double header with the seniors.
