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Mistakes prove costly to Polars in high school football playoff

Vernon breaks halftime deadlock with strong third quarter to beat PGSS 35-14 and advance to second round of BCSSFA playoffs against Duchess Park
Ted Clarke
18 PGSS Polars football in Vernon Nov. 13 2021
The Prince George Polars pose for one last group on the field after they lost their BCSSFA double-A varsity playoff 35-14 to the Vernon Panthers Saturday in Vernon.Handout photo

The Prince George Polars played like they did the night they wrapped up the North Division regular season title.

Ferociously.

Unfortunately for the Polars, they were up against the Vernon Panthers, the two-time defending B.C. Secondary Schools Football Association double-A varsity champions and suffered a third-quarter collapse. It led to a 35-14 Panther win which cost PGSS a chance to advance to the second round of playoffs.

“It’s disappointing to lose but it’s better to play well, especially for the Grade 12s,” said Polars assistant coach Brett Morrow. “The worst thing that could happen is if you lose and play poorly in your last high school game.

The Polars went into the game as underdogs.

“Vernon is one of the premier programs in the province,” said Morrow. “They’re in the top-four every year, as long as I’ve been coaching.”

The third quarter started with the Panthers blocking a Hudson Bracklow punt and Vernon recovered the ball inside the Polars 10-yard line and went on to score. Not long after that series, Polars quarterback Jason Kragt ran the ball 50 yards and was inside the Vernon 10-yard line when he got hit and fumbled the ball. What looked to be a promising PGSS drive suddenly stalled and it was a pivotal turning point.

“The score does not reflect the outcome of the game,” said Polars assistant coach Brett Morrow.

 “I’m super-proud of them, they played like they did against Duchess. If we had played like that against Duchess (the P.G. Bowl) would have been a whole different ball game.”

The Polars and Panthers were tied 14-14 at the half.

PGSS lost one of its starters early in the game when linebacker/wingback Everett Muratori hurt his neck when he was face-masked by a Vernon tackler, a play that went unpenalized.

“We won the turnover battle in the first half and we were definitely the more physical team,” said Morrow. “Our kick-returner, Kaleb Lizotte was one shoelace (tackle) away from returning a kick back to the house. When you play a good team, you have to take opportunities to make plays. We had a few things not happen for us in the third quarter.”

Kragt scored both PGSS touchdowns and also ran in a two-point convert. Lizotte set up the first Polar major with a 40-yard pass reception from Kragt.

Morrow said Nick Krawczyk led the team defensively from his position at linebacker, while inside linebacker/fullback Kurtis Vohar had one interception. Kragt also was a physical force at defensive end.

Krawczyk, Vohar and Kragt are among a group of eight senior Polars who played their last high school football game Saturday. The other graduating PGSS players are Josh Layton, Peter Nyce, Noah Titchner Conor Johnson, Max Novak and Liam Cunningham.

With no junior varsity league this year, the Polars started three Grade 9 players – offensive lineman Gabe Boyd, cornerback/receiver Dante Meyer and safety/receiver Logan Johnson.

The Panthers, who went 3-1 to win the Double-A/Triple-A Hybrid Division regular season title, will travel to Prince George to play the P.G. Bowl-champion Duchess Park Condors next Saturday afternoon at Masich Place Stadium. The Condors knocked off the Polars 35-12 last week to claim the Matt Pearce Memorial Trophy as North Division champions.

The Polars are staying overnight in Vernon and plan to return to Prince George on Sunday.