It may have only been an exhibition game but the high school football matchup last Friday night between Centennial Centaurs and New Westminster Hyacks had the feel of a championship final.
More than 2,500 people filled the stands at Mercer Stadium and even the Coquitlam and Royal City mayors got in on the action with a bet that would see one of them wearing the winning team's jersey at an upcoming council meeting.
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart was on the losing end of that wager after the clock ran out in the fourth quarter with Coquitlam's Centennial downed 44-22.
But it was the Centaurs' offensive co-ordinator, Jason Parachnowitsch, and head coach Simon Quinto who were the most concerned with Friday's outcome, where their team took close to 200 yards in penalties.
"We really shot ourselves in the foot," Parachnowitsch told The Tri-City News.
The coaches will also have to figure out how to replace J.P. Bridges, the Centaurs running back who went down with a broken ankle midway through the game. Bridges is not expected to be back this season.
"He is a great kid with a great attitude," said Parachnowitsch. "Even when the injury happened, he had a big smile on his face. He was trying to encourage his teammates."
The Centaurs were never able to get their momentum back after a 45-minute delay while officials waited for an ambulance to arrive to take Bridges to hospital.
Despite coming out with a blistering opening drive led by quarterback Nick Okamoto that saw Centennial run eight plays in the first two minutes, the Centaurs' offence sputtered for most of the game.
The penalty trouble slowed them down and the coaches will try to find a way to address the team's discipline issues ahead of this Friday's regular season opener against St. Thomas More on home turf.
"They are kind of the mirror image of us," said Parachnowitsch of this week's opponents. "They run a no-huddle offence and it is a very similar system."
The Terry Fox Ravens also struggled on the road last weekend. The PoCo squad travelled to Vancouver Island where they took on the Mt. Douglas Rams, one of the top teams in the AAA high school league.
Terry Fox was able to keep the game close for most of the first half but things began to fall apart in the third quarter when quarterback Connor McKee was picked off in the end zone.
In the fourth, the Rams blew the game open with a nine-play drive to extend their lead to 28-14. Another touchdown brought the Ravens to within one score but another interception slowed down the visitors' momentum and built an insurmountable lead for the home team.
Fox will play its regular-season opener at Town Centre Stadium on Friday at 5 p.m. against the Rutland Voodoo.
