Timberwolves take down Hyacks in statement win

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Who doesn't like a good old-fashioned shootout? There's nothing like a back-and-forth contest that comes down to the final seconds of the game. In a Friday night matchup between the Robert Bateman Timberwolves and New Westminster Hyacks, fans at Mercer Stadium got just that. The Timberwolves' offence was exactly one point better in an electric 36-35 win on the road.

Both teams moved the ball seamlessly but with very different approaches. The Timberwolves did so with their spread attack, utilizing an explosive screen game featuring tailback Callum Pambrun-Perry and a dropback pass game with quarterback Jackson Hall distributing the ball to his playmakers. 

"Bateman was a good football team who showed up with a good game plan and executed it very well," said Hyacks head coach Andrew McKechnie.

Even when the Hyacks' defence seemed to have plays snuffed out, Hall did a spectacular job extending with his legs and making plays out of structure for the Timberwolves.

The Hyacks' offensive attack, on the other hand, was the Kah'ri Johnson and Nikolas Panesar show. The two backs piled up rushing yards behind the Hyacks' offensive line, using the team's run-first mentality.

"We were able to get off to a much faster start offensively this week and scored on our first 2 drives, taking up quite a bit of the clock," said Hyacks offensive coordinator Darnell Sikorski. 

"Kah'ri Johnson did his thing again. He's an explosive and violent runner who can take it to the house on any play. He's leading the province in rushing for a reason," he continued.

"Our offensive line really stepped it up in the 2nd half and we cut down on some of our mental errors from the past few weeks, but still there were a handful."

In the final minutes of the game, the Hyacks' offensive line beautifully executed one of the team's signature run plays and had Kah'ri Johnson into the open field. Johnson showed why he's leading the province in rushing as he ran over two Timberwolves' defenders before sprinting down the left sideline on his way to a 70-yard rushing score. 

That back-breaking run put the Hyacks up by six in their own stadium in the final minutes of the game. With all the momentum in the Hyacks' favour, the Timberwolves didn't flinch.

Hall stood tall under pressure and delivered the ball on time again and again to move the ball deep into Hyack's territory. On a second and goal at the Hyacks' five-yard-line, Hall delivered a strike in the middle of the field to an open Caleb Mills for the go-ahead score with just 20 seconds left on the clock.

On the ensuing kickoff, a squib kick took a Timberwolves bounce off a Hyack and fell right into the arms of Mills and the game was all but over. The Timberwolves were victorious in a 36-35 statement victory. 

Sikorski and McKechnie gave full props to their opponents post-game, but know their team has much to improve on.

"It was a one-point game that came down to the last few seconds and unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of that one point. It was a great game to be a part of,"  said McKechnie post-game.

"We did a little bit too much arm tackling and weren't as physical as I would have liked us to have been," he stated.

"Coaches and players need to take the lessons from this game and all work hard to improve this week so that the offence can continue to take a step in the right direction," said Sikorski.

"Coach-speak says we focus on one game at a time and all that, but honestly, we have to. We have a gauntlet of a schedule and we face some great teams one week after another," he continued. 

"Lord Tweedsmuir is next up and just like Bateman, it's another team with no weaknesses. We really just need to turn our focus on being at our best on Monday," he said.

The Hyacks will continue their gauntlet of a schedule next Friday as they take on the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers, who are fresh off a historic victory over Vancouver College.

As for the Timberwolves, they showed Friday night that they're a team to be reckoned with in AAA this season. They'll look to showcase that once again in their matchup next week against the Sardis Falcons.