The Terry Fox Ravens wrote the final chapter on the high school career of the province's most explosive runner. And now the Ravens look to have the last word on a team some are calling among the best in B.C. high school football history.
Terry Fox stopped the W.J. Mouat Hawks 17-6 in Saturday's semifinal at UBC Thunderbird Stadium.
"The defence was huge in keeping Maleek Irons under wraps for the most part," said Ravens' co-head coach Martin McDonnell, who gave credit to the game plan drawn up by co-head coach and defensive co-ordinator Tom Kudaba along with assistants Jordan Lieberman, Chris Corrado and Sean Riley.
"[They] designed the defence to stop the run and the boys played well. Their only TD came after a botched punt return by us gave them a short field."
Irons entered the game having rushed for more yards than any running back in the history of B.C. high school football over the past two years, racking up 1,559 yards this year for an average 260 yards a game.
But the Ravens have their own imposing ground attack, with Mike West carrying the ball 22 times for 172 yards against the Hawks. West stood out on both sides of the ball, making three tackles and five assists along with a sack and fumble recovery.
Quarterback Conner McKee scored on a keeper from 33 yards out and also hit Brad Peters for another 33-yard touchdown strike to give the Ravens a 14-0 halftime lead. Penalties stalled Ravens' drives in the third quarter and Irons scored from three yards out early in the fourth to pull the Hawks to 14-6. Junior varsity standout Sean Stewart rounded out the scoring with a 33-yard field goal.
But it was the Ravens' defence that led the way. Jordon Seney had 11 tackles, two sacks and batted down a pass, while linebacker Isaiah Stevens had nine tackles, four assists and a blocked extra point and Griffin Medwid had seven tackles and five assists. Kyle Sagmoen controlled the trenches, racking up five tackles and four assists, while Jason Shamatutu contributed five tackles, two assists, a sack and an interception.
The Ravens will now take on the two-time defending champion Mt. Douglas Rams in the Subway Bowl Saturday at 7 p.m. at BC Place. The Rams got past the Tweedsmuir Panthers 39-33 in the other semifinal. They are looking to join Richmond and Notre Dame as the only teams to win three straight provincial titles.
"They are a very talented well-coached team but as we saw last [Saturday] LT stayed right with them," said McDonnell, noting the Ravens lost a tight exhibition match to the Rams 28-23 back in September.
"They are not impossible to hang with. If we can slow down [running back] Marcus Davis we have a chance. Our defence is great but on 'O' we'll have to be better [take fewer penalties] if we're going to play with them."
