Mouat overpowers Vancouver College in 31-7 victory

Courtesy: Mouat Athletics

The #1-ranked W.J. Mouat Hawks continued their dominant season with a convincing 31-7 victory over the Vancouver College Fighting Irish on Friday afternoon.

Mouat’s defence set the tone early, forcing a stop on VC’s opening drive before quarterback Elijah Black went to work. On the Hawks’ first possession, Black found Aarav Bhandari on a 13-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring.

“Offensively, Elijah continues to stand out for us. He keeps stacking up impressive Performances," said Hawks head coach Andrew Harder.

Black continued to show why he's a frontrunner for AAA player of the year in this one, finishing 21/27 passing, for 352 yards, 3 TDs and 10 carries, 47 yards and a score on the ground.

The Hawks' defence showed they too are ones to be reckoned with, striking again as Santiago Llarena came up with a timely interception, halting another promising VC drive. Llarena may fly under the radar to some, but not those who watch the Hawks regularly.

“Santiago Llarena was a monster on both sides of the ball. He does so many little things that don’t show up on the stat sheet, but they make a huge difference week in and week out,“ said Harder.

Black capitalized on that play by Llarena soon after, connecting with Max Pratt for the first of his two touchdowns on the day. Mouat entered halftime up 14-0 after missing a field goal attempt late in the second quarter.

In the third frame, Owen Turner extended the lead to 17-0 with a 30-yard field goal. Vancouver College finally responded in the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass on fourth and 15, cutting the lead to 17-7.

Mouat immediately answered that score and squashed all the momentum the Irish had just built as Black found Pratt deep downfield for a 55-yard touchdown. The Hawks sealed the win with a late rushing touchdown to make it 31-7, putting an exclamation point on the performance and

handing VC's first loss to the Hawks at the varsity level since 2011. 

“I’m proud of our defensive effort today. Coach Mills had a great game plan, and our front seven did an excellent job slowing down a very strong VC run game. Our goal was to go 1-0 this week. Great team win by all our guys,” Harder said. 

The Hawks remain unbeaten and will round out their regular season when they take on the Sardis Falcons at home next Friday.

Mouat stat leaders:

• Max Pratt: 9 catches, 158 yards, 2 TDs
• Santiago Llarena: 6 catches, 66 yards; 5 solo tackles; 1 interception
• Trey Harley: 2 catches, 100 yards; 1 interception
• Isaiah Black: 2 sacks, several key pressures