Hyacks out of playoff hunt
Any hopes the New Westminster Hyacks had of reaching the B.C. AAA high school football playoffs came to a crashing halt at Mercer Stadium on Friday.
That’s when the West Vancouver Highlanders hammered the Hyacks 62-30 leaving New West without a win in the Western Conference standings heading into the last week of the season.
After going 3-1 in the exhibition season, the Hyacks have gone winless in five conference contests.
“I can’t really put my finger on why. I really believe this is a high-character group, and they were better than last year’s team. I honestly believe that, but everyone else is better this year,” said Hyacks head coach Farhan Lalji “You are what your record says you are.”
Friday’s game started off as a nightmare with the Hyacks going down 14-0 just 59 seconds into the first quarter. New West fumbled the opening kickoff and after West Van scored they recovered an onside kick and went in for a second touchdown. Along with needing a nine-point win to keep their playoff hopes alive, the deficit seemed to dissolve their confidence.
“This team dating back the last three years has lost a lot of games, and learning to win is tricky. Sometimes you get into negative situations and [affects your] confidence,” said Lalji. “I’m not sure they always believed, or they let themselves go back to old patterns.”
Highlanders quarterback Johnny Franklin was on fire passing for 314 yards and six touchdowns, as well as rushing for more than 100 yards and scoring two TDs himself.
New Westminster QB Tommy Robertson connected on 10 of 15 passes for 146 yards including a 21-yard touchdown toss to Tristan Sands and one interception. He also scored on a 67 yard touchdown run. Pavan Mrock had a 72-yard TD romp while Aldrin Asuncion scored on a 23-yard major. Sands finished with six catches for 102 yards.
On defence, Jordan Chin had eight tackles while Sonu Kainth had six and a quarterback sack.
Their season will conclude when Victoria’s Mount Douglas Rams, the top-ranked AAA team in the province, visits Mercer on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
However, there’s a lot to look forward to next year considering the junior varsity squad will be looking to clinch the Western Conference title when they take on Mt. Douglas at Mercer Stadium on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
Last week, the Hyacks downed the Highlanders 34-20. Mackenzie Ratcliffe was in on two touchdowns in the first quarter, one on a pass to Matt Seymour and the second he scored himself along the ground.
In the second quarter, Jamie Shiho threw a TD toss to Marc Massicotte. In the second half, Daniel Steeves and Tyrone Morgan scored touchdowns along the ground.
The Hyacks lead the West with a 4-1 record just ahead of Mount Douglas and Vancouver College at 3-2.
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