The top-seeded PGSS Polars and second-ranked College Heights Cougars will fight for the junior varsity P.G. Bowl tonight at Masich Place Stadium.
The two high school football teams will be on the field at 7 p.m. The Polars beat the Cougars 42-0 in the first game of the season but PGSS coach Tommy Heinzelman said College Heights is a much-improved squad.
"I think it's going to be a pretty physical battle," Heinzelman said. "They've got some big boys on the line so I think it's going to be a pretty tough battle between the lines and I think we're going to have to get to the outside and throw the ball a bit."
The Polars, led by Grade 10 running backs Terrance Vohar and Braden Reed, have leaned heavily on their ground game this season. To keep teams guessing, they also mix in some passes from Grade 10 quarterback Jake Burke.
"We try to keep it within 30-yard passes - mostly short to medium routes," Heinzelman said.
Defensively, PGSS hasn't surrendered a single point through a four-game regular season and one playoff contest. The Polars completed the regular schedule at 4-0 and defeated a young and building D.P. Todd Trojans club 66-0 in a semifinal playoff last week.
The Cougars - who went 3-1 during the season and edged the Kelly Road Roadrunners 20-16 in their semifinal game - will have a different look for the Polars tonight as they try to break through offensively. Unlike that season-opening game when Oak Adams got the start at quarterback, the ball will now be in the hands of Blake Rhodes, who has returned from a student exchange trip to Germany. With the Grade 10 Rhodes at the controls, Adams will move to running back and Dawson Day will switch from running back to receiver.
"My entire goal is to score on (the Polars) early and often," said Cougars coach Brad Paakkonen. "Defensively, we just need to contain their run game as best as we can because they're very, very strong up front."
In the 2015 city final, the Polars lost 45-6 to the Duchess Park Condors. In that game, Duchess Park tailback Colburn Pearce scored all of his team's points. He finished the contest with seven rushing touchdowns and kicked three converts.
