After a rocky week one against Mission, the Abbotsford Panthers made a statement on Friday against Pitt Meadows.
The Panthers set the tone early, jumping out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, and cruising to a 42-0 win at home.
Abbotsford’s offence was firing on all cylinders, but it was the team’s defence that swallowed up the Pitt Meadows forward push and kept them far out of the red zone for the entire game. The Marauders beat the Rick Hansen Hurricanes 40-0 last week but the Panthers kept them off the scoreboard.
Abbotsford head coach Jay Fujimura said it was a nice rebound after a very close game in Mission last week.
“I thought we were a little more consistent than against Mission,” he said. “The weather played a bit of a factor so we were allowed to throw the ball a little more, and usually we get the run off the pass so that helped us.”
Fujimura said the Panthers made adjustments both offensively and defensively after last week’s win and they seemed to pay off.
“We moved around some personnel to fix some of the gaps we saw last week,” he said. “I thought it helped us because we got exposed at some certain edges and we closed that off this week.”
Chase Claypool opened the scoring with a receiving touchdown in the first quarter and added another in the second. He also returned a punt for a major in the third quarter. Claypool made four catches for 109 yards in total.
Richard Tshimpaka scored a pair of rushing touchdowns, one in the first quarter and another in the second. Wide receiver Alex Mudry scored the Panthers’ other touchdown. Quarterback John Madigan threw for 222 yards passing and completed 10 passes.
Tshimpaka and Claypool also led the way defensively, with seven tackles apiece.
The win improves the Panthers to a perfect 2-0 and they next host the Robert Bateman Timberwolves on Friday at 1 p.m.
The Timberwolves lost another close one on Friday, falling 10-9 to Mission. Tyson Gibson scored the lone touchdown in the loss for Bateman, who fall to 0-2 in AA regular season play.
The Rick Hansen Hurricanes also dropped to 0-2 after a 42-0 loss to G.W. Graham in Chilliwack on Friday. The Hurricanes next travel to Mission to take on the Roadrunners on Saturday.
In AAA action, the W.J. Mouat Hawks earned their first win of the season by beating the Centennial 38-17 on Friday.
The Hawks opened up a 24-3 lead at halftime and then cruised to the win.
Dion Pellerin picked up 239 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns in the win. Dylan Manocha added 75 yards on the ground and another two rushing touchdowns for the Hawks.
Defensively, Reuben Reardon had three quarterback sacks and Cameron Tomm led the way with five tackles.
The Hawks’ record sits at 1-3, and they next host the Mt. Boucherie Bears on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
