Of gridiron triumphs and boxla setbacks

 

 
 
 
 
FREE RANGE BIRD: The Terry Fox junior Ravens' Conner McKee, left, helped lead the charge in what was a perfect march through B.C. junior varsity football waters in 2012. The Ravens went undefeated, closing out the season in early December with a 14-7 triumph over the St. Thomas More Knights for the provincial crown.
 

FREE RANGE BIRD: The Terry Fox junior Ravens' Conner McKee, left, helped lead the charge in what was a perfect march through B.C. junior varsity football waters in 2012. The Ravens went undefeated, closing out the season in early December with a 14-7 triumph over the St. Thomas More Knights for the provincial crown.

Photograph by: submitted , for the NOW

There were accomplishments aplenty by local athletes and teams in 2012, from teenage gridiron stars who rolled undefeated through a long football season to be crowned provincial champions, to the Coquitlam junior Adanacs' fourth straight Minto Cup run - and second straight runnerup status.

Here is a roundup of all things Tri-Cities when it comes to sports, following last week's Top-Six list, that hits most of the high notes and a few tough rolls.

RAVENS SET UP PERFECT RUN

erfection doesn't come easy - it just looks that way.

P The Terry Fox Ravens completely dominated the B.C. junior varsity high school football scene in 2012, wrapped up perfectly with a 14-7 victory over the St. Thomas More Knights at BC Place.

They began the playoffs by blasting Lord Tweedsmuir 36-6, but had a preview of a tighter test in the semifinal, when they edged Mount Doug 14-7.

In the final, Conner McKee set the tone by throwing a pair of touchdown passes, to Dylan Foulds and Mike West, and pulled down four interceptions on defence. McKee was presented with the playoff MVP award.

Fox finished the year 11-0.

TOUGH FINISH TO STRONG SEASON

It had a little more drama than most years, as the Coquitlam junior Adanacs found themselves in an actual battle for league domination. They ended up edging the Delta Islanders by two points for the regular season crown, despite a forfeiture. In the playoffs, they picked up steam and toppled Delta 4-1 in the B.C. final.

At the Minto Cup national championships in Ontario, Coquitlam advanced to the best-of-three final for a fourth consecutive season but couldn't match the Orangeville Northmen's offence in losses of 19-6 and 9-4.

"We knew it was do or die (in Game 2), so it was a bounce-back game that we had to win," remarked graduating sniper Robert Church.

The club thrived with the league's top goaltender David DiRuscio, league scoring champ Matthew Dinsdale, and top rookie Challen Rogers.

Here are more highlights from a fantastic 12 months in sports:

A quartet of Coquitlam racquetball players racked up the medals at the Canadian junior championships. Josephine Choi, 13, teamed with a Montreal girl to win the girls u-14 doubles, and a silver in u-16 girls doubles. She earned the Female Sportsmanship Award as well. Partners Chris Culhane and Josh Killins topped the u-12 boys doubles, with Culhane also securing the u12 boys single crown.

Grace Killins topped the u10 girls singles event. With their respective results, Grace Killins and Culhane were named to Team Canada. Port Moody's Natasha Fraser won the Vancouver Sun Run 10K women's race with a time of 34: 12.6. It was the 30-year-old's seventh time running the event. Both the PoCo FC and Coquitlam Metro-Ford Wolves soccer teams pushed the envelope but ended up licked in the end, as the two were eliminated in the men's Provincial Cup soccer semifinals. PoCo, which advanced farther then ever, fell 1-0 to Surrey United. Coquitlam was

handed a similar defeat by Delta United.. Benjamin Ayesu-Attah won the 400metre men's race at the Western Athletic Conference, and in the process set a personal best of 46.86 seconds. It also earned the Coquitlam runner a berth to the World Junior Track and Field championships. The Gleneagle girls Talons rugby dynasty is going strong in the Fraser Valley. For the 11th time in the past 15 years, the Talons topped the Valleys, this time besting Lord Tweedsmuir 17-5 on two tries by Gr. 10 Amy Leem. Port Coquitlam siblings Misato and Tsuyoshi Hamanaka represented Canada at the World Kendo championships in Italy. Misato helped Canada finish eighth in the team competition.. The Port Moody Gunners were right on target in May, taking the U-21 Doug Day Provincial Cup with a 2-1 win over Victoria. Steve Causier and Jack Livesley supplied the offence. The Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame welcomed athletes Gail Harvey Moore (deceased), Neil Godin and Norm McLeod, the 2001 Mann Cup champion Coquitlam Adanacs and builders William Azzi, Don Cunnings and Lois McNary into the fold in its third induction class. Port Coquitlam's Robert Watson added to his impressive gymnastics resume, snagging bronze all-around at the Canadian national championships. He secured gold on floor, silver on hugh bars and bronze on parallel bars. Centennial's Nathan George was in familiar territory when he took the top step in both the 200-and 400-metre dashes at the B.C. High School Track and Field championships in June. The Coquitlam sprinter won both events for a second consecutive year to wrap up his high school career. He won the 200m in a time of 21.8 seconds, and took the 400m title by finishing in 47.89 - beating last year's mark in both instances. Dr. Charles Best's James Linde proved the fastest on the track in the 100-metre sprint at the B.C. High School Track and Field championships. Linde captured the event with a time of 11.14 seconds.

He also earned a silver in the 200m race... Coquitlam's David Otterman got a phone call from the Milwaukee Brewers in June after being selected in the Major League Baseball draft. The former Coquitlam Reds pitcher was chosen 245 th overall, in the seventh round...

The Coquitlam Express' Alexander Kerfoot was selected in the fifth round of the NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils. The 17-year-old had impressed the scouts by posting 25 goals and 44 assists in his BC Hockey League debut, and would later ink a scholarship offer with Harvard University.. Port Coquitlam hockey players Reaghan Chadwick and Valencia Yordanov made good impressions along the way to invitations to the B.C. Female Hockey under-18 high performance program. Chadwick, a forward, and Yordanov, a goalie, were selected to the final 24 at camp. The Coquitlam Metro-Ford Ajax scrubbed its way to the under-18 title in the inaugural Premier League Cup final, beating a Coquitlam rival 1-0. Coquitlam minor hockey product Ben Street inked a two-way contract with the Calgary Flames, after turning in two strong seasons in the Pittsburgh Penguins' farm system. The Hyack Swim Club ended a 27-year-title drought at the provincials, thanks to Coquitlam's Abigail Sayer's gold in the 200 metre butterfly and silver in 200m freestyle relay. Port Coquitlam's Anica Yoo set a new course record on the final round and locked up the B.C. Junior Girls golf championshipo title in Osoyoos. She capped a strong week with a round of 68. For a 13-year-old, Coquitlam's Chantell Botsis knows something about distance. The teen track and field athlete established a B.C. record in the javelin and added a second gold in the discus at the B.C.

Summer Games. The Fraser Valley Cyclones kicked up the dirt en route to provincial Little League banner. The squad included 10 members from Coquitlam Little League. Coquitlam's Jeff Heidema painted all the corners and froze seven batters en route to a no-hitter for the Coquitlam Reds of the B.C.

Premier Baseball League. A lefthander, Heidema did the deed against the No. 3 team in the league, allowing just two baserunners over seven innings. The Port Moody Thunder rumbled its way to the provincial intermediate B title, getting 45 saves from Ian Damberger in a 10-8 triumph over Juan de Fuca. It was a double-gold turn for Port Coquitlam's Brittni Wolczyk at the Legion National junior track and field championships in PEI. Wolczyk won both the girls javelin and discus events, posting provincial and personal bests in the process. Coquitlam's Henry Lee remained cool under pressure, capturing the B.C. juvenile boys golfing championship title over three days. He shot a combined score of 213 (68-7174) to stave off a late rally by his nearest competitor.With nearly half the team hailing from the Tri-Cities, B.C.'s under-16 field lacrosse team toppled Ontario 14-8 in the Canadian final. Friends, family and acquaintances were all saddened by the passing of Coquitlam's Gary MacKenzie, who over decades of work as a sports equipment innovator/ repairman and skate sharpener encouraged hundreds of people to keep active and laughing.

He died after a lengthy battle with cancer. The ice dancing duo of Port Moody's Madeline Edwards and Burnaby's Zhao Kai Pang netted twin bronze for Canada at back-to-back ISU Junior Grand Prix events, in France and Turkey. The Coquitlam Express kicked off the 2012-13 B.C. Hockey League season with a pair of shutouts, garnering netminder Cole Huggins the league's first Player of the Week award. Coquitlam's Nathan Lund scored seven touchdowns in Centennial's 54-40 victory over the New Westminster Hyacks in October. The Grade 12 running back carried for four, caught two and added a punt return. Skating for Hong Kong, Coquitlam native Ronald Lam won the Asian Trophy men's championship title in senior men's figure skating. Simon Fraser University receiver Lemar Durant tied a single game Great Northwest Athletic Conference record with four touchdown catches as SFU won its first conference game, 58-47 over Dixie State. The Coquitlam native was named the Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week. The Gleneagle Talons turned a tough loss in the Fraser Valley finals into a motivator at the senior girls provincial field hockey, where they finished third. Port Moody's Janine Frazao picked up her second straight Canada West female soccer player of the year award. The striker finished with 13 goals. Seven local soccer players contributed to a national university title. Paul Clerc, Navid Mashinchi, Richard Meister, Milad Mehrabi and Tyler Mertens were part of the UBC Thunderbirds' 1-0 win over Cape Breton in the men's final, while Sarah Hannigan and Kristen Santema helped Trinity Western University capture the women's crown with a 1-0 victory over Queen's University. The Archbishop Carney Stars pushed the envelope at the B.C. AA senior boys soccer championships in Burnaby, before falling 1-0 to Okanagan Mission. It came after the team triumphed at the Fraser Valleys. At the world junior racquetball championships in Los Angeles, the Coquitlam trio of Grace Killins and brothers Chris and Connor Culhane secured medals. Chris Culhane took gold in the boys u12 singles, while Killins and her partner won the girls u12 doubles event. Connor picked up bronze in the u-16 Challenger Cup division. The Heritage Woods Kodiaks displayed a lot of heart at the AAAA senior girls provincial volleyball championships. The Kodiaks placed second after a lengthy 3-2 championship showdown in the final, erasing a 2-0 deficit before falling to Delta. The Coquitlam Vikings posted a perfect run in junior bantam football, finishing with a 26-20 victory over West Kelowna in the B.C. final. In midget action, the Coquitlam Falcons copped the provincial crown by beating Langley 21-6. The Coquitlam Express, who got off to a red-hot start to the season, struggled in December after it was announced that centre Alex Kerfoot would have shoulder surgery, ending his season. The club, who at one point led the Mainland Division, sits at 16-18-1 as it enters 2013.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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FREE RANGE BIRD: The Terry Fox junior Ravens' Conner McKee, left, helped lead the charge in what was a perfect march through B.C. junior varsity football waters in 2012. The Ravens went undefeated, closing out the season in early December with a 14-7 triumph over the St. Thomas More Knights for the provincial crown.
 

FREE RANGE BIRD: The Terry Fox junior Ravens' Conner McKee, left, helped lead the charge in what was a perfect march through B.C. junior varsity football waters in 2012. The Ravens went undefeated, closing out the season in early December with a 14-7 triumph over the St. Thomas More Knights for the provincial crown.

Photograph by: submitted , for the NOW

 
FREE RANGE BIRD: The Terry Fox junior Ravens' Conner McKee, left, helped lead the charge in what was a perfect march through B.C. junior varsity football waters in 2012. The Ravens went undefeated, closing out the season in early December with a 14-7 triumph over the St. Thomas More Knights for the provincial crown.
PUNCHOUT ARTIST: Coquitlam's Jeff Heidema began the 2012 B.C. Premier Baseball League season slowly, recovering from an arm injury. By late July the lefthander was really rolling, piloting his Coquitlam Reds past Victoria in a no-hitter.
SET TO STUN: The Coquitlam Adanacs were once again kings of the B.C. Junior A Lacrosse League, thanks to the contributions of veterans like Robert Church, centre. The junior Adanacs' run however was halted in a 2-0 sweep at the hands of the Orangeville Northmen in the Minto Cup national championship in Ontario.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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