Hugh Boyd Trojans will play their biggest home game since the 2014 provincial playoffs when the No. 1 ranked Seaquam Seahawks visit Friday night in a clash of unbeaten teams in B.C. High School Football’s Western AA Conference.
The Trojans are fresh off a bye week and will put their perfect record on the line (5-0-0) against the high-powered Seahawks (7-0-0) with a 7 p.m. kickoff. The showdown is part of a pivotal three-week stretch that will conclude the regular season and determine Boyd’s playoff seeding.
The Trojans are coming off a 27-0 win over Frank Hurt two weeks ago and also produced earlier conference victories over Nanaimo (42-0) and Windsor (28-14). Now, all three phases of their game will face their biggest challenge of the season against a multi-threat Seaquam team.
The North Delta school is led by Grade 11 twins Jalen and Tyson Philpot — sons of former B.C. Lions star running back Cory Philpot. Jalen is the team’s featured tailback, averaging over seven yards per carry. Tyson is the the Seahawks’ top receiver with nearly 400 yards through six games. Quarterback Josh Haydu is also enjoying an outstanding season with over 800 yards passing.
“They really have some big play kids,” said Boyd head coach Bill Haddow. “They run a lot of single back sets with (Jalen) and will use Tyson on sweep jets too. They also have done a lot of damage on special teams and that’s something we have to be very aware of and keep working on in practice this week.”
Boyd will counter with one of the top interior lines in the province that can control the line of scrimmage and open running lanes for standout back Reace Mok who is averaging over 10 yards per carry. He will eclipse the 700-yard plateau for the season on Friday. Tyler Moxin also gives the Trojans an experienced quarterback who will need to make quick reads and decisions against the Seahawks’ pressure defence.
“The old saying ‘your best defence can be your best offence,’ holds true here,” added Haddow. “If we can establish our running game, it will help keep them off the field.
“We have fortunately been healthy all season and are ready to go.”
The Seahawks will enter the game on short rest, having defeated Nanaimo’s John Barsby Bulldogs 40-19 on Monday.
