It wasn't eight times lucky for the Duchess Park Condors.
The Condors dropped their first British Columbia High School Football League game of the season Friday at Masich Place Stadium 13-6 to the Nechako Valley Vikings of Vanderhoof.
Kyle Varley led the Vikings (7-2) to the upset victory as he made plays on offence, defence and special teams.
"It's amazing," said Varley as his teammates surrounded him after the game chanting MVP.
"We definitely wanted it more and we came out on top. Tonight just felt right for all of us."
The Vikings trailed 6-0 at the half, but came out determined in the third quarter.
"We had a good locker room talk and came out and executed as a team and pushed it through," said Varley, 17.
Spencer Siemens caught a pass from Vikings quarterback Connor Nielsen early in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 6-6.
Not long after the Vikings appeared to go ahead when Varley faked a punt on fourth and 20 and zigzagged his way to the end zone, but a holding penalty wiped out the play.
"I saw the opening and I faked it," said Varley. "I was able to sneak right through. Luck got me through."
But after stopping the Condors deep inside their own end, the Vikings grabbed the only lead they needed, when Nielsen tossed a 10-yard pass to Venezuelan import Mauricio Parilli.
"We knew he was here for a reason," said Verley.
Parilli, a Grade 12 exchange student from Caracas, arrived in Canada on Aug. 28 and was immediately recruited to play for the Vikings by house- and teammate Riley Wallace.
"It's the first time I played football," said Parilli. "I joined
because they wanted me to."
The six-foot-two receiver used his height and jumping skills from playing basketball to pull in the winning score.
"I never thought it would be like this," said Parilli. "It feels great. I couldn't believe it."
Mike Rositano, head coach of the Condors, said the team that made the least mistakes was victorious.
"They came back and wanted it a little bit more," said Rositano. "Basically it was only a
couple of plays that really made the difference."
The coach said the Condors came out strong in the second half, but couldn't sustain the pressure.
"The executed on a couple of drives that they needed and when it was our turn we just didn't
execute," said Rositano.
It's not surprising it was a defensive battle on the gridiron, as the Vikings and Condors have the second and third best defences in the province. Only Mission secondary in the eastern conference has allowed less points.
During the regular season the Condors beat the Vikings 13-0 and 14-6.
Despite the loss, the Condors live on in the provincial playoffs, facing Mission (3-0) in round one, while the Vikings face the Okanagan champion, which will be decided today.
"Tough competition, but they're beatable," said Rositano. "It's disappointing, but it's not the end of the season."
After a scoreless opening quarter, the Condors went up 6-0 after receiver Montell Lindgren caught a 20-yard pass from quarterback Rylan Matters, putting the ball inside the Vikings' 10 on the first play of the second quarter. Two plays later, running back Josh Hughson ran six yards for the touchdown. The Condors missed the two-point conversion.
Duchess Park ate up lots of clock time on their opening drive of the game, as Matters and Hughson took turns running the ball. The drive stalled when Matters touchdown toss into the end zone was knocked down by a Vikings' defender.
Vikings rusher Varley had a 13-yard run on his team's opening possession, but the Condors' defence forced the Vikings to punt.
The Vikings recovered the ball midfield when Matters fumbled the snap, but the Condors' defence responded when Mitchell Schulz intercepted Vikings quarterback Connor Nielsen's pass and ran 10 yards the other way.
It's the second PG Bowl championship for the Vikings who won in 2008 and were runners up last season, while the Condors only title came in 2007.
The PG Bowl began in 2004 with the College Heights Cougars rattling off three consecutive titles, beating the Condors each time. In 2009, the Kelly Road Roadrunners won the title, while in 2010 the PGSS Polars were crowned champions.
