Opposing teams are having a bear of a time beating North Langley Football’s bantams.
The bantam Bears improved to 6-1-1 on the season with a convincing 40-0 victory over their cross town rivals, the Langley Mustangs.
Isiah Key tossed his first touchdown pass of the year to Alex Ronald who in turn picked up his first touchdown reception.
Alex Henderson and Connor Hurley also caught passes from Key while second half quarterback Nick Lacroix had completions to Isaiah Coronado and Luke Chalk.
Evan Rees led the Bears with 101 yards and a touchdown on the ground while Ethan Bernardin scored two majors of his own on just three carries.
Pablo Wigwigan had the Bears’ final touchdown on a spectacular 50-yard punt return.
Hurley and Jacob Ronald led the Bears defence with 12 tackles between them, and Alex Yoo had a crucial first quarter fumble recovery.
K’Paw Shee Htoo blocked a Mustangs’ punt giving North Langley great field position early in the second quarter.
The Bears travel to Victoria next Sunday to battle the Spartans for second place in the division.
– Chris Hurley
Atom Bears
In a match-up of teams coming off wins in their previous games, the Bears beat the Chilliwack Giants Red 22-8 on Friday.
Marcus MacLeod, Bernemann Hoy, and Rylan Middleton ran for positive yardage during the Bears’ second possession that included a pass competion from quarterback Ben Evans to Hoy.
Lucca Patterson tackled the Giants’ back for a loss of yards, and then MacLeod’s tackle capped a scoreless first half.
The Bears came out energized after the break and moved the ball up the field, and on the eighth play of their drive, Evans ran in for a touchdown.
The Giants answered to take an 8-6 lead.
Blocks from the offensive line including Rowen Engele and Gideon Bodill opened holes for the Hoy and MacLeod, and Middleton capped the drive with a touchdown. A succesful convert made it 14-8.
Later on, a nine-play drive ended with Middleton’s run for another touchdown to end the game’s scoring.
The announcer called out Ben Evans as “Tiny but Tough” and he was awarded Bears IHop player of the game.
Evans finished with a pass completion and touchdown, ran the ball for multiple yards, and made five tackles on defence.
– Cheryl Laroche
Junior bantam Bears
Even though the Bears lost 24-12 to Chilliwack, there were bright spots.
Touchdowns were scored by quarterback Jesse Neilson as well as Charlie Ward while on defence, Conner Bernardino recovered a fumble and Aiden Morency made some key tackles.
Dallas Pattenden also had numerous first down carries.
– Natalina MacLeod
Peewee Bears
The North Langley peewee Bears ended the Chilliwack Red’s season-long win streak in resounding fashion on Saturday.
The Bears blitzed Chilliwack 40-8, highlighted by three touchdowns on the day by Mathieu Gale, including a 70-yard catch-and-run to end the first half.
Chilliwack scored on its opening drive but the Bears took over from that point on.
Gale took the Bears’ first play to the house with a brilliant 60 yard run to set the tone for his productive day.
Quarterback Owen Sieben ran in a 15-yard QB keeper for a score while Lance Barker also got on the score sheet with a solid run.
The Bears’ defence was also strong on Saturday.
Manny Fotiou had a fumble recovery and a sack while Jacob Deibert came up with a key third down stop late in the half.
Ryan Goosen also made some key tackles.
The Bears close out their regular season at home next week as they gear up for the playoffs.
– Stuart McRitchie