A new champion to be crowned: Panthers dethrone Irish

---

For the first time since 2021, a team that does not wear purple and gold will be named AAA Provincial Champions. The Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers have ended the Vancouver College Fighting Irish's reign over football within the province of BC with a 28-23 victory in the AAA semi-finals.

The Panthers had already beaten the Irish 23-10 in September. This go around, the Irish had a different plan of attack and had their star running back Tristan Perdido back in action leading to a tighter game.

"We're extremely happy to walk out of BC Place with a win. All Credit to VC, who had a great game plan and executed all night," said Panthers' head coach Michael Carter.

Both teams' defences were stingy early. Neither team was able to get anything going consistently until Reye Quintana got lost on a rail route out of the backfield and sprinted down the sideline for a 70-yard score late in the first quarter.

After being shut down for the first 22 minutes of play, the Panthers' dormant offence had its fire lit and was finally ignited. The player who sparked the flame was Chase Thurston. The starting pivot dropped back to pass on a fourth and long and had nowhere to throw the ball.

He escaped the pocket to the right and exploded into the open field, making Irish defenders miss left and right on his way to a 30-yard major.

VC would answer with a Jerome Angelopoulos touchdown reception from Benen Curran to take a 14-7 lead into the break.

In the second half, both offences run games that were almost non-existent in half number one took center stage. Perdido and Panthers' star tailback Jerin Harinen went back and forth until the final whistle.

Harinen utilized his superb vision and agility on his way to 37 rushes for 219 yards and 2 scores. When VC loaded the box to stop Harinen, Logan Wager got his touches, finishing with 5 catches for 53 yds and one major.

Perdido's hard running led to an A VC field goal and another touchdown reception by Angelopoulos.

After Wager had tied the game at 14, the Panthers' defence made the biggest play of the game. As Curran took off to his right on a speed option play, Tyler Jones shot through a narrow gap and forced a bad pitch. Panthers' defensive back Tristan Ford jumped on the loose ball and the Panthers had possession once again. 

The play would end up resulting in a 14-point swing that the Irish were unable to overcome. As Thurston knelt down to seal the Panthers' victory, LT's sideline erupted; they had just dethroned the reigning champs.

Carter was ecstatic with his team postgame, but knows his team faces their biggest challenge thus far in the AAA finals next week.

"Our players are jumping at the opportunity to play at BC Place for a Provincial Championship next Sunday. WJ Mouat presents some major challenges and we'll have to be at our absolute best."

The Hawks and Panthers played back in September, which resulted in a 41-33 Hawks win. These teams have both vastly improved since that time and will have the opportunity to show how far they've come since that September matchup with a AAA Provincial Title on the line.