A quarterback's ability to think on the fly can sometimes mean the difference between winning and losing.
Tyson Plain put a new wrinkle in the Prince George Polars' high school football playbook last week on the field at Masich Place Stadium. It led to a key touchdown that helped the Polars defeat the Nechako Valley Vikings in the P.G. Bowl Northern Conference championship.
Trailing the Vikings by five late in the first half, facing fourth down-and-goal from the five yard line, Polars head coach Al Paciejewski called timeout to set up a play instead of trying a field goal.
The gamble worked. Plain spotted receiver Jordan Olexyn all alone in the end zone and fired a strike to give the Polars the lead. But if not for Plain's input in the huddle, Olexyn probably wouldn't have been so open to haul in the pass.
"I had a play in mind and told the guys what I wanted them to run and Tyson said, 'If we just change one thing in the patterns it will open up Olexyn,' and sure enough it did," Paciejewski said. "It was a combination pattern and he asked Mark Elson to run the slant because he'll take (the Vikings secondary) with him and he said to Olexyn, 'Just get to the corner of the end zone and I'll hit you.'
"When you're a coach standing on the sideline, what you're seeing is very limited, and that was an example of your quarterback really thinking and seeing what's going on."
The Polars topped the Vikings 26-19 in overtime to win their first P.G. Bowl title. After getting stopped for a five-yard loss on the initial play in overtime, Plain took off and ran the ball 15 yards into the end zone, the only points the Polars needed to lock up the championship.
Today in Kamloops, the Polars face the Seaquam Seahawks of Surrey in a sudden-death B.C. High School football Association varsity double-A wildcard playoff. PGSS will need Plain to be at his improvising best to have a hope of moving on to next week's playoff round.
In Taylor Goodine, Brady Lecomte, Lucis Gomes, Kyle Woods and Eric Irving, the Polars have a selection of backs to carry the ball. But if the Seahawks have the same success the Vikings did in stopping the run, Plain is prepared.
"Tyson is a pretty smooth character at quarterback and he has the ability to scramble," said Paciejewski. "He's not afraid to deliver the ball and he has a lot of confidence in our receivers that if he puts the ball up there, somehow they will run to it. We made some adjustments to our passing game and we took some sacks, but we know we can probably complete three or four big ones."
The Seahawks are the third-place finishers in the Coastal Conference. Game time in Kamloops is 5 p.m. The winner moves on to a quarterfinal against Mission.
"We're extremely excited to be competing in provincials, and if you ask anybody on the team, we think we stand a chance," said Olexyn. "I feel our team is very confident we'll be able to hold our own in Kamloops.
"The boys are looking forward to this," added Paciejewski. "It's going to be another step up in terms of the quality of opponent and we're looking forward to the challenge."
Nechako Valley takes on the Handsworth Royals of North Vancouver in another wild-card playoff Saturday morning at 10 at UBC in Vancouver.
