Now that the dust and mud has settled, the PGSS Polars and Duchess Park Condors know who they'll face in the first round of the B.C. High School double-A football championships this weekend.
The Polars will tackle the John Barsby Bulldogs, the defending double-A champs from Nanaimo, Saturday on Vancouver Island while the Condors will kick off against North Vancouver's Carson Graham Eagles Saturday in Kamloops in a pair of provincial quarter-final games.
The match-ups were determined after the Condors and Polars - the top two seeds in the Northern Conference - played the top two teams in the Okanagan Interior Conference, the Vernon Panthers and Westsyde of Kamloops, last Friday. The games sorted out the seedings for the combined Northern and Interior Conference.
The Condors were shut out 38-0 by the Panthers, while the Polars lost 48-14 to Westsyde.
"They're [Westsyde] a stronger team than we anticipated and offensively we played really well," said Polars head coach Don Williams. "We had three [scoring] chances within their 20-yard line and we couldn't score. Our defence is usually our strongest part of the game but it struggled against their strong running and passing game."
Now, in facing the Bulldogs, the Polars are going up against the top seed in the Western Conference.
There will be a rivalry of sorts between the two teams. Former Bulldog quarterback Matthew Isenor is now the Polars quarterback coach, while former Polar Rob Stevenson is one of Barsby's coaches.
"I know Matt is really looking forward to the game and it will be a tough test," said Williams. "We're going to go down there [to Nanaimo] and see how it goes."
But no matter what happens, Williams said being ranked among the top 16 double-A teams in the province is something the Polars can be proud of.
Meanwhile, the Condors are regrouping after their loss against Vernon to get ready for their tilt against the Eagles.
Friday against the Panthers, the Condors allowed 31 points in the first half. Duchess Park was also without starting quarterback, senior Rylan Matters, who was out of the lineup with the flu and a sore back.
That meant junior varsity quarterback Jacob Cundy was called into action.
"Jacob did really good," said Condors head coach Mike Rositano. "We threatened to score four times but Jacob couldn't hear the plays I was calling into him because the music was so loud. We have a big offensive line but Vernon has a really big defensive line. We adjusted very well in the second half. We didn't play bad, we're just not used to playing a team that's that good.
"Win or lose, our main priority was that we needed a game like that to get us ready to play Carson Graham. It was a good tune-up."
Matters is expected to play Friday against the Eagles, who are seeded third in the west.
Rositano said the Eagles are fast and have a solid attack through the air.
"Our secondary matches up well against them but we will have issues on our offensive line," he said. "We need to be quicker. We know what we're facing and we'll be more competitive."
The Panthers will now meet the Argyle Pipers (the fourth seed in the Western Conference) while Westsyde will play Qualicum's Ballenas Whalers (the second seed in the Western Conference).
The provincial semifinals are slated for Nov. 29 at UBC's Thunderbird Stadium and the final will be played Dec. 6 at B.C. Place Stadium.
Duchess Park's JV team will play its next game, a provincial quarter-final, Saturday afternoon against North Delta's Seaquam Seahawks in Kamloops.
The Condors are the fifth seed in the province while the Seahawks are ranked 12th.
