Jacob Cundy showed Wednesday night he can make caviar out of mincemeat.
The 15-year-old Duchess Park Condors quarterback proved that on numerous occasions Wednesday night on slick and soggy Masich Place Stadium field. His ability to think fast and move quickly under pressure with the ball in his hands gave the Condors what they needed to win their third-straight junior varsity P.G. Bowl title, a 32-20 win over the Nechako Valley Vikings.
Cundy's scrambles on broken plays twice led to gutsy long gains that powered him into end zone. He proved an elusive target on the rain-soaked turf for Vikings tacklers and his offence was enough to keep the Condors' perfect season intact as they finished with a perfect 7-0 record.
"It's so muddy out there and there was nothing wrong with the snaps from the centre, it was just the ball was [slippery] with inches of mud everywhere," said Cundy. "We were slipping and sliding everywhere. It was really a tough game."
The Condors grabbed the lead early on 36-yard TD toss from Cundy to Colburn Pearce and Cundy added another touchdown a few minutes later on a one-yard run. The Vikings got on the scoreboard on the last play of the first quarter after Eran Bach recovered teammate Hunter Brophy's long-distance punt on the Condors' 19-yard line. On the following play, Brophy bulled his way over the goal line to make it 14-6 game.
The Condors answered with a 60-yard score and Cundy who did most of the work, recovering his own fumble and picking up his blocks to scamper into end-zone territory. The half ended in a peculiar way that gave the Vikings a big lift. Just after the Condors came up with an impressive goal-line stand, Duchess Park took over the ball and rather than take a knee to concede the safety, Cundy tried an ill-advised short pass behind the goal line that landed right in the arms of a diving Steven Williams, which pulled the Vikings to within 26-12.
The only scoring in the third quarter came on another improvised play when Cundy took a low snap and took off out of the pocket, breaking tackles as he ran 41 yards for his third touchdown, which atoned for his earlier mistake.
"He's an amazing quarterback and I take him as role model," said Condors running back/middle linebacker Denver Petersen. "We came out with a victory and it's my last game and I'm glad I got to spend it with the guys."
Cundy has played two seasons as the junior varsity Condors quarterback and also plays for the Duchess Park senior team. In what was his final junior varsity game at home, he was extremely fun to watch.
"I came here in Grade 9 and I wasn't as developed as I am now as a player and as a quarterback and this year really meant a lot more because I put a lot of effort in and we went undefeated," said Cundy.
"Nechako Valley is different from a lot of teams because even if they're losing they just push and push and never give up. They just pound the rush and they got some passes in their. They're a really good team."
Vikings running back Corbin Brown ran 63 yards for a touchdown and Williams followed up with a two-point convert to cap the scoring in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings lost a few key players to injuries late in the game but never let up and left the field knowing they'd give the Condors their toughest battle so far this season.
"We knew Duchess Park had a strong quarterback and they have an amazing team," said Brophy, who played running back and middle linebacker. "They have everything and I'm glad they get to go down south as the Number 1. We played hard and that's all you can do in the end."
The College Heights Cougars and Kelly Road Roadrunners met later Wednesday night in the third-place playoff. The score was unavailable at press time.
