The Junior Varsity South Delta Secondary Sun Devils will play for a provincial championship on Saturday at BC Place.
SDSS defeated Lord Tweedsmuir 24-14 on Nov. 23 at Minoru Park in Richmond in its semifinal playoff game while Vancouver College edged WJ Mouat 29-28.
SDSS and VC will meet in the championship set for an 11:30 a.m. kickoff under the dome in Vancouver.
“It wasn’t our best game, but we made the plays when it mattered,” said head coach Scott Martens. “We maybe got a little too conservative in the second half as well, but that being said, the team is so excited for the opportunity to play in BC Place.”
The JV program started in 2017 and this will be the first time the program is playing for a title.
“It was a defensive battle against Tweedsmuir. Our defence made some huge plays,” he said. “Quinn Sjoberg had a strip and fumble recovery as well as an interception. We had another pick from Damian Dumas as well as Jarred Brown, so to have three interceptions is huge. We also had a few forced fumbles. We noticed a bit of a tendency that they [Tweedsmuir] were a little lose with the ball, so we really tried to get that ball on the ground and secure it. At the end of the day, we won the turnover battle and that won us the game.”
Willem ter Keurs opened the scoring for SDSS with a three-yard run with Brown kicking the convert for a 7-0 lead.
LTSS tied the game in the second only to see SDSS reclaim the lead on a 90-yard kickoff return from Dylan Lappin.
Brown added the conversion and a 36-yard FG to put the Sun Devils up 17-7 at the half.
There was no scoring in the third.
In the fourth, Sjoberg caught a 17-yard pass from Dumas to close out the scoring for the Sun Devils.
As for the final, Martens said Vancouver College will be a tough test.
“Playing on Saturday gives us two extra prep days, so against a team like Vancouver College, that will be so helpful for us,” he said. “We know a bit about them because up until this year they were in our conference, and we played them every year. They will have a huge roster, they have talent, good coaching, so we will have to find that next gear. The guys have done that as the season has progressed. Each week we have been able to build during this long playoff run, which is so great for the future of the program. We must up our game one more notch, because VC will be strong. We have to be ready and embrace the moment.”
