Citizen staff
It was a heartbreaking finale for the junior varsity Duchess Park Condors football team.
The Condors held a 18-8 advantage Thursday at the half in their game against Vernon secondary but three turnovers in the second half was the undoing of the Condors as they fell 28-24. The loss ended the Condors B.C. high school football league season.
Mike Rositano said it was a difficult way to lose on the field in South Kamloops but the junior Condors made it a memorable season of football for him.
"The boys played their hearts out and it was an honour to coach these boys," said Rositano.
"It was one of the best moments in 21 years of coaching football."
The Condors dominated Vernon in every capacity during the opening half.
TJ Kyriakos rushed the ball 14 times for 117 yards while finding the end zone for three touchdowns while Daniel Stratton carried the ball 23 times for 198 yards and one touchdown.
On defence Michael Schulz led the way with 13 tackles while
Jacob Foote and Denver Peterson had 10 each. Brady Martin had seven tackles.
Offensively the Condors put up 362 yards as a team.
"Our weak point was special teams," said Rositano. "The three turnovers allowed Vernon to get back into the game."
The Condors won the northern conference of double-A junior football, having lost only one game all season before the loss Thursday in the crossover game with the Interior division second-place team. Duchess Park beat the PGSS Polars 25-6 to capture the junior P.G. Bowl.
Stratton finished the season third in high school rushing with 1,052 years in nine games,
scoring eight touchdowns.
He was the top kick returner among B.C. junior players with 13 carries for 241 yards.
Condors quarterback Caleb Cruse was second in junior passing yards, throwing for 11 touchdowns with nine interceptions.
In the other game Thursday, the PGSS Polars were shutout 22-0 by South Kamloops.
After the game, Cruse and Schulz travelled to Vancouver for the under-15 Team Canada tryouts at UBC on Sunday.
