The Ballenas Whalers senior high school boys football team suffered a tough 35-21 loss to the Windsor Dukes at the May Bennett Pioneer Park in Nanaimo on Saturday afternoon.
It happened on a day when prior to the game, the Whalers players honoured their mothers, with each one presenting them with flowers and hugs.
The Whalers could not muster consistency in their game on both ends. They also committed crucial errors that allowed the Dukes, who remain unbeaten in conference games this season, to grab the early lead and sustained it throughout the game.
“This is a very good football team,” said head coach Dan Smith. “They’re very big and are coached very well. They won the B.C. championship last year and they’ve got some players still there.”
The loss puts the Whalers in a difficult position as they now need to win their last two conference games to make it to the playoffs.
The highlight for the Whalers was their passing game, which the Dukes struggled to cover. Quarterback Ben Chomolok tossed four touchdown passes to Scotty Williams, who made impressive catches under pressure at the end zone.
“Our passing was pretty good today,” said Smith. “We had trouble moving their big guys on the run game. We haven’t had that kind of problem all year round, to be able to the run the ball effectively. But these guys were tough to run against.”
In the first half, the Whalers struggled to contain the Dukes’ top player, Jeremy Sinclair, the son of former B.C. Lions player Ian Sinclair. And it helped the Dukes score two touchdowns in the first quarter.
“We didn’t jam him off the line of scrimmage,” said Smith. “We let him get free and his six-foot-four, 225 pounds, running at full-speed to catch the ball. He’s tough to bring down. We kinda fixed that but he caught us on a wheel-rout which set us back a little bit.”
The Whalers came back to end the half down by just seven points. In the second half, the Dukes extended their lead 21-7.
The Whalers quickly responded with Chomolok executing another tight 20-yard touchdown pass to Williams to trail 21-14. Momentum appeared to have swung in the Whalers’ favour. A well-executed onside kick led to Nathan Robinson diving on the pigskin to give Ballenas possession. But in the ensuing play, the Whalers’ attempted long pass was intercepted by the Dukes, who ended up adding two more touchdowns to extend their lead to 38-14.
With time running down, the Whalers were able to advance the ball close to the end zone. Chomolok tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Williams, his third of the game. He also scored all the one-point conversion.
“I am really glad we came back and didn’t quit,” said Smith, who told the Whalers that they need to be at the same level as Dukes if they want to make it to the playoffs. “That’s the standard we got to get to.”
This Friday the Whalers will face Howe Sound at 3:15. Venue is still uncertain at this time.
Meanwhile, the junior Whalers continue to be on the winning path. They beat the junior Dukes 48-28 and put themselves in a good position to make it to the playoffs.
“They executed pretty well,” said Smith. “Our offence and defence were pretty good. We were actually able to throw the ball again and defensively we shut them down.”
Smith said since losing the Border Battle against John Barsby, the junior Whalers have come out to play. The junior Whalers will take on Holy Cross this coming Wednesay.
