The Duchess Park Condors know they've done a lot of things right this season.
They just have to look at the calendar as a reminder.
It's mid-November and the undefeated Condors (6-0) are still in the hunt for a provincial banner, hoping to lock up their first B.C. High School Football Association double-A varsity title.
To keep that dream alive, the Condors will have to defeat the Seaquam Seahawks of Surrey in a provincial quarterfinal playoff Friday night in Kamloops.
The Seahawks earned the right to play the Northern Conference-champion Condors last Friday when they eliminated the Robert Bateman Timberwolves of Abbotsford 26-8 in a wild-card playoff. Seaquam finished the regular season with a 5-1 record in the Western Conference, second to the Hugh Boyd Trojans of Richmond, who had an identical record.
The Condors have had two weeks of practice to get ready for Friday's 6 p.m. game. Duchess Park head coach Richard Bundock watched the game film from last week and knows his team could be seeing double when they line up to face the Seahawks.
Much of the Seaquam offence revolves around identical Grade 11 twins Jalen and Tyson Philpot, who have been well-schooled on the game from an early age. They're the sons of former B.C. Lions running back Cory Philpot, who played with the Lions from 1993-97, and now coaches the Seahawks.
This season, Jalen has averaged 153 yards rushing, picking up 920 yards on the ground in six games, while Tyson ran for 358 yards, averaging close to 19 yards per carry. The Philpot twins also play as defensive backs and are among the Seahawk leaders in tackles.
"They are built on speed," said Bundock. "They do a jet sweep from a spread formation and one of them lines up as a slot(back) and his twin brother is the other slot.
"Colburn (Condors running back Pearce) described it best when he said, 'They're the same height as me, maybe a little bit lighter and just as fast.' And there's two of them."
Pearce, the Northern Conference offensive most valuable player, was among 10 Condors selected as conference all stars. Duchess Park linebacker Zack Bundock, was picked as defensive MVP. The other Condors who made the all-star team were defensive lineman Denver Peterson, linebacker Gage Reimer, quarterback Jacob Cundy, receivers Nathan Stokes and Jared Annis, and offensive linemen Logan Seager and Brett Stubbs.
"We've got some talent, too, and it'll all come back to who makes plays - if we stop them more than they stop us, that's what's going to decide it," said coach Bundock. "Both offences are going to do well, but defences win you championships."
Bundock plans to use the six-foot-one, 300-pound Stubbs as a fullback. Stubbs usually plays defensive lineman/offensive tackle but has surprising speed. The Condors will be counting on him using his quick feet and his size to break a few tackles when the usual running backs, Pearce and Bundock, aren't being asked to carry the ball.
Cundy won't make the trip to Kamloops due to what coach Bundock termed "family reasons," and that means Grade 10 quarterback Andrew Johnson will get the call to make his third-straight start as the Condors' quarterback.
Reimer, a receiver/inside linebacker, has recovered from a rib injury and will be ready to go on Friday. Condors' defensive end Liz Pelletier, who suffered a concussion during the P.G. Bowl, won't play.
Six members of the P.G. Bowl-finalist Nechako Vikings are all-stars, including running back Hunter Brophy, flex (running back, wide receiver-tight end) Corbin Brown, offensive lineman Chance Arnusch, defensive lineman Ethan Lank, linebacker Tyler Lang, and defensive back Erin Bach.
The Vikings' season ended last Thursday in Kamloops where they lost a wild-card playoff 27-20 to Argyle of North Vancouver.
Also on the all-star list were four College Heights Cougars - offensive lineman Landan Parsons, running back Conner Adams, linebacker Hein Jordan and defensive lineman Cory Yeast - and four Prince George Polars - offensive lineman Justin Wittmeier, defensive lineman Austin Edgson, linebacker Jager Hammerstrom, and defensive back Noah Williams.
