The EMCS Wolverines varsity football team finished their season with a valiant effort against the playoff-bound GP Vanier Towhees in Courtney on Nov. 9. Team captain Morgan D’Ganigian rushed for over 200 yards and two touchdowns in the Wolverines best offensive game of the season.
This was despite the Wolverines being eliminated from post-season competition and against a Towhees program that finished the season 5-1. The fact the kids fought hard until the year’s final whistle, despite usually facing programs with nearly double the players, impressed the coaches.
“I’ll put the heart of the 16 kids I had against the heart of any team in the league,” said head coach Darryl Pollock.
Much of the team’s offensive success came behind the stellar blocking of offensive guard Riley Hannam and fullback Harley Ring. Hannam, centre Cam Kingsston and right tackle Matt Howlett were the team’s unsung heroes in the trenches.
Landon Pollock, playing his first year as quarterback, improved every week, throwing the ball accurately and using his athleticism to make plays. But perhaps the most important efforts by Pollock were the recruiting he and defensive captain Connor Gray did before the season started. Their work ensured there were enough players to field a team at all.
Coach Pollock also singled out the work-ethic and dedication of grade 11 player Mike Hembrough and first-year player Cody Buttle. Both kids gave everything they had in every rep, whether practice or game. Hembrough even filled in at QB against GP Vanier—completing his only pass attempt—when Pollock had to miss a series due to injury, and Gray, the regular back-up QB, couldn’t make the game. Hembrough and Buttle personified the heart of a Wolverine.
With the 2012 season now in the books, the coaching staff has already begun preparing for 2013. Off season workout programs will be announced soon. Anyone currently in Grades seven through 11 and interested in playing next season should attend some of these free sessions. Contact JV head coach Richard Whiteley at front2steel@yahoo.ca for more information.
By Nathan Lowther