Pain is the price it takes to win sometimes, lessons Cole Malo learned as a Vanderhoof kid growing up on the football field, lacrosse floor and hockey rink, and the 17-year-old Nechako Valley Vikings running back/defensive lineman didn’t let that dull ache keep him on the sidelines. He sucked it up and stayed in last Friday's game at Masich Place Stadium.
The six-foot-four, 200-pound Malo rewarded them late in the first half when he took a handoff from quarterback Cooper Ziler and ran into the end zone. That doubled the Nechako Valley lead on their way to a 26-0 win at the P.G. Bowl.
Cole also made two tackles in the game and his primary role as a blocker opened holes for his 16-year-old brother Dexter, who scored the first Vikings touchdown. The six-foot, 180-pound Dexter ran for 97 yards on 24 attempts and as a linebacker he sacked Cougars quarterback Zachary Loewen twice.
The brothers share a tight bond. Cole has been pushing Dexter all his life to excel in sports and having that constant influence in-house has paid off.
“It’s nice, he plows the way for me and it’s easier for me to get around,” said Dexter. “It’s been all-around better for me as an athlete.”
Said Cole: “To be honest, he’s better at wrestling and he has kicked my butt a few times, but I’m happy I’ve got someone to put my arm around and take with me on all these journeys we’ve been going on.”
Younger brother Jackson, 12, a minor football quarterback and the Vikings’ ball boy, is bigger than his siblings were at that age and he could end up being the football stud of the family.
Both of the older Malo brothers are honour-roll students as well as being exceptional athletes. Cole played for the triple-A Cariboo Cougars U-17 hockey team as a forward last season and is now sticking closer to home with the Tier 4 U-18 Vanderhoof Bears while he prepares for the junior A lacrosse season as a defender for the Delta Islanders.
Dexter also played minor lacrosse in Prince George and was a goalie last season for the Cariboo Bobcat double-A rep. He’s just starting the season as a high school wrestler and is waiting for snow to join the Vikings snowboarding team.
Football is a something they’ve always practiced together, basically since they started playing atom community ball.
“They were really reluctant when they were six years old when I pushed them to go try football out,” said their dad, Matt Malo, a Vikings assistant coach. “They were three years too young to play, but they were big kids and so they got to learn the game and ride the bench,.
“In their second year they definitely showed some talent and a work ethic you can see on field. Our whole family is proud of the boys, they’re non-stop. They’re very good boys, well-disciplined in school and well-disciplined at work. They work pretty hard.”
Matt, the manager of Vanderhoof Specialty Wood Products, sees that every day when his fill their part-time shifts on the mill cleanup crew.
Both could have junior football futures with the Prince George Kodiaks, but for now they’re intent on taking the Vikings as far as they can up the double-A varsity high school provincial ladder. The win over the Cougars booked the Vikings a berth in the provincial quarterfinal Nov. 18 at Masich (weather permitting) against the winner of Saturday’s College Heights-South Kamloops playoff.
