Facing the defending provincial champions and the top seed proved to be no problem for the Langley Stampeders.
The Stampeders used outstanding defence and ball control to deliver a 22-7 victory over the White Rock Titans on Sunday at South Surrey Athletic Park in the provincial midget quarter-finals.
All season, the Titans effectively used a Wildcat offence to earn the top record in the 14-team league. But against Langley, they had no answer for the Stamps’ defence, whether they tried to run or throw the ball.
After both defences stood tall in the first quarter, Langley struck in the second when quarterback Cory McMurchy hit running back Reagan Doucette on a 47-yard pass to get down to the White Rock 12. A few plays later, Harman Basra scored on the reverse and Langley was up.
The defence went to work, as defensive linemen Sukh Toor, Jon Miao, Brayden Norcliffe, and Shaiheem Charles-Brown put constant pressure on the Titans quarterback and would not allow the Titans to get any traction. Any time the Titan offense was able to break the line of scrimmage, linebackers Evan York, Bryan Desmarais and Cameron Kaulback made sure the gains were minimal.
In the second half the Stampeders took over driving the ball into the Titan zone time and time again. The Stamps dominated field position throughout the half.
Kalen McMurchy capped off a 76 yard drive early in the fourth quarter with a one yard plunge to make the score 15 – 1 for the Stamps. The drive was set up by runs from slotback Jack Westcott, Doucette and Cory McMurchy. Later in the quarter, the McMurchy brothers connected on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Cory to Kalen to bring the score to 22 -1 Stamps. The Titans finally found the end zone with a late touchdown for the final 22-7 score.
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The Stampeders advance to the provincial semifinals where they will face the second-seed Meadow Ridge Knights. The game goes Saturday (Nov. 17) at 2 p.m. at Samuel Roberts Technical in Maple Ridge.