In a perfect world, the Terry Fox Ravens would be gearing up for a AAA high school football provincial championship rematch against the Mount Douglas Rams this week.
Instead, the club will be cleaning out their gym lockers after falling to the South Delta Sun Devils in an icy semifinal loss at UBC last Saturday.
For this year at least, a provincial championship banner will not be coming back to Port Coquitlam, a disappointment for a team that was expected to go all the way this season.
"It is what it is," said Tom Kudaba, coach of the Ravens. "We knew they would be a formidable opponent."
Slushy football games had been played on the UBC field all afternoon following Friday night's snowfall. However, by the time the Ravens took the field, most of the wet stuff had turned to ice, which Kudaba said was an equalizer in the game.
Quarterback Connor McKee twisted his ankle early in the match and was limited by the injury for the rest of the game. Teammates Isaiah Stevens and Keishon Ross were also hurt in the match.
"It was just a slushy frozen mess," he said. "It freezes up at 8 p.m. and then you are playing on these little icebergs."
The Ravens got off to a good start in the game.
Mike West set the tone early with a touchdown before McKee ran one in later in the first half to help the team to a 13-0 lead.
But the Sun Devils started to rally in the second half when they scored on a long-bomb play to get on the board. That was when injuries started to hit the Ravens, who were reeling defensively with the loss of Stevens in the second half.
When the dust finally settled, the Ravens were down 16-13.
Kudaba acknowledges that both teams struggled with the field conditions but the Sun Devils managed to handle it better than his club. He said he was impressed with South Delta's performance.
"There quarterback really impressed me," he said. "He made some great plays that won the game for them. Good on them. Sometimes that happens."
Kudaba and his club will spend the off-season looking to re-tool before taking another run at the provincial title next season.
In the meantime, the Mount Douglas Rams and the South Delta Sun Devils will compete at B.C. Place Stadium this Saturday for the B.C. AAA high school football championship. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
