Kelowna Owls vs Vancouver College Fighting Irish

The Vancouver Fighting Irish used their bye week to sharpen their details, heal up any nagging bumps and bruises, and came out on fire in their 41-7 Quarter Finals victory over the Kelowna Owls.

These teams last met in Week Two of the regular season. In a game, the Irish dominated and came out on top with a 58-7 win. However, this isn't the same Owls team from early on in the season.

Kelowna has vastly improved from that game back in September. With the stakes being much higher this time and both teams knowing that anything can happen in the playoffs, this game was far from a foregone conclusion.

The Irish entered this matchup following an undefeated regular season. After a bye in the opening round, the Irish looked rested and refocused. Head Coach Bryan Chiu and his staff made sure to emphasize the importance of staying disciplined and playing their brand of football during the team's break, knowing that Kelowna would come ready to compete.

From the first play from scrimmage, Ryder Quintana and the Irish set the tone. On a trap play deep in Irish territory, Quintana followed his block and looked to cut upfield. As he did, it appeared as if an Owl's defensive lineman had him dead to rights.

Quintana saw this out of the corner of his eye and made a ridiculous spin move to avoid what seemed to be a tackle for loss. As his momentum took him to his right, he made one more sharp cut-up field to split the Owl's defense and sprinted between the hash marks deep into Owls' territory before being taken down inside Keowna's 20-yard line.

Quintana would cap the drive a couple of plays later on with a seven-yard rush to give the Irish an early lead. With the Owls with the ball, it was time for the Irish's defensive unit to shine.

As the Owls dropped back to pass on a second down near midfield, Irish defensive back Nathan Lowden jumped a seemingly open hitch route, intercepting the pass and returning it 19 yards to set up his offense in great field position again.

In the second quarter, Quintana would capitalize on that great play by Lowden and punch the ball in for another score, this time from eight yards out. On the next drive, the Irish's secondary showed they weren't done making plays.

JB Scott showed that he, too, is a ball hawk stepping in front of another Owls pass. This time, he took the ball 37 yards all the way to the house, and VC was up by three scores. Jack Burns also got in on the action, picking off another ball and giving the Irish defense three interceptions in the first half.

Quarterback Parker Orr would then find receiver Lucas Gonzales for a 34-yard Touchdown, and the party was on at O'Hagan Field. VC would continue their strong play in the second half and come away with a 41-7 victory.

Irish Head Coach Bryan Chiu liked his team's ability to play hard despite the miserable weather.

"Proud of our boys for playing hard throughout the game in the heavy rain. Credit to Kelowna for playing a tough game after traveling from Kelowna," said Chiu.

"Most importantly, we got out of the game Healthy and need to get mentally and physically ready for a strong Lord Teeedsmuir team."

The Irish will prepare for a Panther team that gave them one of their best games of the year back in the regular season.  Both teams are hitting their strides right now, and with an opportunity to play in the AAA finals on the line, this is bound to be one of the best games of the season.