Chilliwack’s bantam Blue Giants opened the playoffs against a familiar opponent, the North Surrey Panthers.
All week long, head coach Jeff Samulak preached to his players that even though they had beaten the Panthers twice this season, they’d be ill-advised to take their opponent lightly.
The locals listened to their coach and worked hard all week in practice, with the end result a 24-0 shutout victory.
The Panthers battled hard early and were able to keep the score 0-0 going into halftime.
But the Giants offence finally woke up in the third quarter, producing four touchdowns.
Josh Pretty contributed to three majors, connecting with Zach Toews on two scores and running another in from two yards out. Running back Jake Creasey also scrambled his way into the endzone.
On the defense side, Darius Commodore had a big game with several key tackles.
He also produced a touchdown saving interception late in the fourth quarter to preserve the shutout.
Byron Dargatz, Nashon Douglas and Thijs Duinveld also had great games.
The Giants now prepare for the provincial semi-finals, hosting the Victoria Spartans Saturday at Townsend Park.