Skip to content

Chilliwack’s G.W. Graham Grizzlies off to the Dome after beating Mt. Douglas

The high school football team spent hours on a bus travelling too and from the playoff game
27295786_web1_GWGrahamFootball

One of G.W. Graham’s football teams is heading to B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver this weekend for a semi-final playoff game.

After enduring an hours-long bus ride from Chilliwack to Langley Monday morning, the senior squad outlasted the Mt. Douglas Rams (Saanich), winning 27-20 at Langley’s McLeod Athletic Park.

Had the Grizzlies not played Monday, BC School Sports had determined that the game would be decided by a coin flip. That was an unacceptable solution for G.W. Graham coach Luke Acheson.

“Obviously none of us were excited with the idea of some totally random outcome,” he said. “We were quite pleased to get the opportunity to settle the matter with our pads. I would like to thank our admin team, led by athletic director Jake Mouritzen and General Manager Laurie Smith, for working so hard behind the scenes to find solutions to problems while allowing us coaches and players to focus on football.”

Sam Mannes led the way with a huge rushing day. The shifty back carried 25 times for 202 yards and two touchdowns.

RELATED: Grizzlies and Falcons playoff game highlights growth of football in Chilliwack

RELATED: Chilliwack’s GW Graham Grizzlies bounce back with shutout win over Abbotsford Panthers

Quarterback Lucas Feaver threw a TD toss to Tyson Kelly, and completed 10 of 11 passes for 63 yards.

The fourth GWG score came on a 70 yard punt return by Tyson Oregaard.

The Grizzly defence forced two turnovers, getting an interception from Kelly and a fumble recovery from Vincent Branauer.

Branauer and Raiden Mastin each had quarterback sacks and Theo Smith led the squad with 12 tackles.

“I think part of what makes it feel so special right now is the amount of adversity we had to overcome just to make this game possible,” Acheson noted. “Postponing, rescheduling, not being able to practice all week, challenging travel logistics, and three plus hours on a school bus to get to Langley, etc.

“We were all hanging on by a thread there for a while and our young men really showed their resolve this week.”

The senior Grizzlies will take on Coquitlam’s Centennial Centaurs, with a 4 p.m. kickoff Saturday (Nov. 27) at B.C. Place Stadium.

l - G.W. Graham’s junior varsity team crushed Mt. Douglas by a 31-7 count Monday.

They move on to face Vancouver College in a game that will be played at 1:15 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 28) at Notre Dame Regional Secondary School in Vancouver.


@ProgressSports
eric.welsh@theprogress.com

Like us on



Eric Welsh

About the Author: Eric Welsh

I joined the Chilliwack Progress in 2007, originally hired as a sports reporter.
Read more