The College Heights Cougars are hungry for a win that counts in the standings.
With just two games left in the short high school football season, the Cougars have two losses and an exhibition game win to show for their efforts.
They want that 'W,' and for that to happen they'll have to put up a roadblock big enough to stop a couple of steamrollers who will suit up for the Nechako Valley Vikings in a B.C. High School Football Association Double-A Varsity Northern Conference matchup today at 5 p.m. at Masich Place Stadium.
Brophy has been unstoppable this season with seven touchdowns in three games for the 2-1 Vikings, averaging 11 yards per carry while rushing for 532 yards and he's hauled in three passes for two touchdowns. Brophy also plays the opposite side of the field as a linebacker and leads the Vikings with 15 tackles.
"They're a big, tough team," said Cougars assistant coach Grant Erickson. "They have their fullback-running back combination with Corbin Brown and Hunter Brophy, and they're a big load.
"We have to stop their ground game. (Today's) game is going to be a messy game, it's not going to be conducive to a passing game. There's no secret to what they do, they're a ground-and-pound team and our guys are looking forward to the challenge."
Rain or snow and cool temperatures are in the forecast for today and the sloppy field is expected to be a perfect setting for a Tide commercial.
The Vikings flattened the Correlieu Clan of Quesnel 60-6 last week, and Vikings head coach Sheldon Brown says his 25-player team is gaining confidence as they prepare for the playoffs coming up later this month.
"They've been very committed this year, unlike in past years, and we've been grinding pretty much since we started workouts at the beginning of July, they're very powerful this year," said Brown, 24, a former Viking fullback who played the four seasons of junior football with the Kamloops Cowboys.
"We have quite a few returning players and we have Hunter Brophy in the backfield, one of our very key running backs for quite some years now."
Corbin Brown, Sheldon's younger brother, played with the Vikings' junior varsity team last year and has made a smooth adjustment to senior ball blocking for Brophy.
Backed by the experience of their 11 seniors, the Vikings' only defeat this season came Sept. 23 when they lost 35-32 to the Duchess Park Condors (3-0). Coach Brown said the difference in that game was the Vikings' failure to boot converts through the uprights after scoring touchdown. The Condors found the target on the extra-point attempts and walked off with the win.
The Cougars are coming off a 14-12 overtime loss last week to the Polars. It took five possessions for each team in the OT session to decide it. College Heights has some big boys protecting the lines, starting with six-foot-four, 235-pound lineman/defensive end Cory Yeast, a Grade 12 veteran who played some junior ball in Kamloops this year. Linebacker Hein Jordaan is having an MVP season, leading the Cougars in tackles with 20 and he also rushes the ball on offence.
The Cougars' 24-player roster has been depleted by injuries but they will be getting some bodies back which should allow for some substitutions in today's game. Guards Landon Parsons and Jon Wittmeier have been forced into double-duty on the defensive line but they should be getting some rest time on the sidelines now that Travis Huartson, a six-foot-six, 300-pound offensive tackle, and six-foot-three, 250-pound defensive end Brendan Gerard are back after missing two games with injuries.
Conner Adams is not big at five-foot-seven, 145 pounds but he's done his job for the Cougars, averaging five yards per carry for 167 yards and one rushing touchdown.
"Conner's a tough little running back who's just an unbelievable competitor - he's got no on-off switch, he's 100 per cent go all the time. He's as tough as the come," said Erickson, who splits the Cougars' coaching duties with head coach Brad Paakonnen and Sean Yulet.
Cougars quarterback Mitch Lukoni has been handing the ball to Adams and has a 53.3 per cent pass completion ratio, throwing eight-for-15 for 75 yards in two games. Gabe Gilchrist also runs out of the College Heights backfield. Receiver Doug Porter, one of the top lacrosse players in the city, has shown his athleticism, making five catches in two games. He's also contributed nine tackles as defensive back.
The Vikings won their opener 45-0 over the defending-champion Prince George Polars. Nechako Valley last won the P.G. Bowl title in 2011, a 13-6 win over Duchess Park.
Vikings quarterback Alex Winch is not afraid to air out the ball and has eight passing touchdowns this season in three games. He also has scrambling ability if he gets chased out of the pocket.
'He's tall and lanky and he has a good eye for defences and mismatches and that's when he'll throw it up," said Brown. "I'd like to say we're balanced but I know our opponents will say we're very run-heavy and I'm happy we are run-heavy because if you have the backs to do it, why not do it."
Winch won't have one of his primary receivers in the lineup today, Dylan Parent, who broke his tibia catching a ball in the game against Duchess Park. The Vikings are hopeful he'll return for the playoffs. Linebacker Steven Williams is healthy again after missing a month with a sprained ankle and broken hand.
The Vikings' defence has come up big this season, allowing just 41 points in three games.
Duchess Park beat the Cougars 22-8 in the season-opener on Sept. 16. The Condors play the D.P. Todd Trojans tonight at 7 at Masich Place Stadium, following the Cougars-Viking clash. The Trojans are back on the football scene for the first time since the 2009 season, when the team folded. They're a blend of players from D.P. Todd and Kelly Road secondary schools and because of that the Trojans are playing only exhibition games.
