The two Prince George high school football teams that remain standing this season were on the gridiron Saturday.
But the score wasn't kept and yard sticks were nowhere to be seen as the PGSS Polars and Duchess Park Condors ran through their plays at Masich Place Stadium. The intensity of their hits and tackles were cranked down a notch as the squads participated in a controlled scrimmage in preparation for kicking off their double-A senior varsity provincial playoff runs.
The Polars tackle Westsyde from Kamloops Friday at 6:30 p.m. while the Condors square off against the Vernon Panthers Friday at 4 p.m. in a pair of provincial wildcard games in Kamloops.
"The scrimmage was good with very light contact so it was good for both teams," said Polars head coach Don Williams. "Everyone came into it prepared and everyone [on the Polars] is looking good."
With a 4-1 record, the Polars are the No. 2 seed in the Northern Conference, their only loss coming against the Condors in the final game of the season in the P.G. Bowl.
Westsyde is the No. 2 seed in the Okanagan Conference, second behind the top-ranked Panthers.
"I think we'll be able to beat them," said Williams. "Vernon has beat them and I think they're a team we can handle. We are relatively healthy and have a few bumps or bruises."
Meanwhile, the Condors, who won the Northern Conference with a 5-0 record, are preparing for the No. 1 Okanagan seed in the form of the 5-0 Panthers.
"Vernon hasn't played out of their conference like we have and they beat Clarence Fulton 29-0 and we beat Fulton 55-26 [in exhibition]," said Duchess Park head coach Mike Rositano. "We've gotten a lot better since then, but it will still be a tough game. We've had a lot of time to rest and our practices have been up-tempo but we know we can still compete at that level and we're confident going in."
Rositano is bringing several of his junior varsity players with him this weekend to provide backup to the Condors senior starters. They include Denver Petterson, the Condors starting fullback on the JV squad who has seen playing time at left guard and middle linebacker with the senior team this season. Jacob Cundy, the JV's starting quarterback, will be the backup to starting pivot Rylan Matters. On the senior squad, Cundy has excelled as an inside receiver on offence and as a strong safety on defence.
"We have a really solid seniors group but by bringing all the Grade 10s with us, we need to have that depth at this level and that's always hurt us in the past," said Rositano.
There is also a core of Grade 12 rookies who, prior to the season, hadn't played before, but excelled as starters.
Two years ago, the Condors and Panthers met in a provincial JV quarter-final, where Vernon came out on top 28-24 with virtually identical lineups.
The results of both wildcard games this weekend will determine the seedings for all four teams as the Okanagan and Northern Conferences have combined to represent the northern interior.
Depending on whether they win or lose this weekend, the Polars will either face defending double-A champion John Barsby (from Nanaimo) or Ballenas (from Qualicum), the top two seeds in the Western Conference in the provincial quarter-finals Nov. 14. That game will most likely be on Vancouver Island.
The Condors will face either Argyle or Carson Graham (both from North Vancouver) in Kamloops at Hillside Stadium Nov. 14.
The provincial semifinals are slated for Nov. 29 at UBC's Thunderbird Stadium and the final will be played Dec. 6 at B.C. Place Stadium.
The Duchess Park JV team will play its next game, a provincial quarter-final, on Nov. 15 against an opponent that's yet to be determined.
