For the first time in the seven-year history of the P.G. Bowl, the Prince George Polars are not leaving the dance early.
The Polars will get to play for their first high school football championship since the sport was revived in 2004 and they can thank their running backs for making that possible.
The PGSS ground game pulverized the Duchess Park Condors in their Northern Conference semifinal Friday, allowing the Polars to build a 16-point lead, and they hung on to defeat the Condors 36-20 at Masich Place Stadium.
The Polars will play the Nechako Valley Vikings in the P.G. Bowl championship next week. The Vikings were 20-14 semifinal winners in the last semifinal Friday over the College Heights Cougars,
Kyle Woods put the Polars ahead midway through the second quarter on a 21-yard play. Woods, Lucis Gomes, Taylor Goodine and Brady Lecomte gave Duchess Park tacklers nightmares. Their quick exchanges in the backfield and a some well-timed fakes kept the Condors grasping at air.
"Our run game and our defence did a great job," said Woods. "Our O-line improved a lot with all those big guys up front pushing we found some holes.
"We always get knocked out in the semifinals, this feels great."
Woods took full advantage of the territory opened by Colton Smeds, Jason Chesley and Jordan Olexyn and often had a green jersey in front of him to lead the way. The Polars lost linebacker Alex Peet, the Northern Conference defensive MVP, in the second quarter with a muscle spasm in his arm, and Damon Thibaudeau filled in admirably, taking Peet's place at centre.
"Kyle Woods was just amazing -- they were putting nine or 10 guys up within three or four yards of the line of scrimmage and he was getting us great yards, especially on first down," said PGSS head coach Al Paciejewski.
"They are probably one of the best passing teams I've seen up here in years and they were probably unfortunate not to score have scored another one and made it that much closer. They never quit fighting, they knew they had to throw the ball."
The Condors practically owned the ball in the second half but were unable to make the big plays in the red zone until late in the game. Down 28-12 to start the second half, Condors quarterback Montell Lindgren and running back Josh Hughson gained significant yardage, but it seemed every time they threatened to score their drives would stall. Led by Gomes, Coltron Starblanket, and Eric Irving, the Polars defence was at its shutdown best.
The Condors opened the scoring 1:57 into the game when Hughson took the handoff and on hit Devin Durand for a 35-yard touchdown pass. PGSS quarterback Tyson Plain took off out of the pocket and run the ball 10 yards to tie a few minutes later. Hughson added to his team's total on a 10-yard scamper 43 seconds into the second quarter and that seemed to wake up the Polars' running attack. With Woods eating up yardage, they got into scoring range and Plain spotted Olexyn in the end zone. After the two-point convert, the Polars led 15-12.
"We've got some great running backs and some great fullbacks who are able to make a block and our offensive line stepped up up and opened some holes and we were able to capitalize on their mistakes," said Oleyxn.
"It's monumental to everybody on the team to make it to the final. It's unreal that we've been able to get this far and I believe we'll get even further."
Goodine, the Polars, go-to running back all season, picked off a Montell Lindgren pass and started getting his number called in the backfield, leading to several long runs and an 18-yard TD reception for Vinnie Aragones. Gomes added to the total in the final minute of the first half, taking off on a 70-yard dash into the end zone.
Lindgren's mobility allowed him to break free of the Polars pressure in the pocket and the Grade 10 quarterback made good use of Hughson's fleet feet to keep drives alive, but it wasn't enough.
"I think overall we were the better team but they just ran it down our throat and beat us strategy-wise," said Lindgren. "We just had a lot of mental mistakes, like dropping balls, penalties and missing blocks. They were way more organized, they were bigger they hit harder. But we're a young team, we're mainly Grade 10s and 11s, but we'll be back next year and we'll win it."
