After a pair of convincing pre-season wins, the Hugh Boyd Trojans are ready to get down to business.
Following a dominating 40-6 victory in their home opener against South Kamloops, the Trojans now turn their attention to Western AA Conference play, starting next Friday with a trip to Nanaimo to take on the Islanders. Just four of the seven teams will advance to the provincial playoffs.
Boyd’s schedule seems to set up well with potentially tougher tests each week — leading up to its final game back in Nanaimo in early November against perennial powerhouse John Barsby. However, head coach Bill Haddow isn’t taking any opponent for granted.
“We need to win this game. There are some tough teams in our conference but we don’t want to look past Nanaimo,” said Haddow. “I have seen them on video and they are doing some good things and they are always tough kids over there.
“We can’t afford to slip up. We will spent a lot of time this coming week on mental preparation, getting focussed and making sure we are doing everything we can to be ready to play. With only four of the seven making the playoffs, really, no hiccups are allowed.”
Haddow and the rest of the coaching staff were excited about this team’s potential, especially with the return of quarterback Tyler Moxin from a serious knee injury. A pair of impressive performances on both sides of the ball hasn’t stemmed that enthusiasm.
After rolling to a 48-12 triumph over Earl Marriott in the season opener, the Trojans continued to showcase their explosiveness against a game but overmatched Titans team.
Moxin hooked-up with speedster Robbie Conroy for three touchdowns, including a long over the shoulder catch on the final play of the opening half. Moxin also scored on a 40-yard keeper to open the third quarter in what would be his final drive of the day. Running back Reace Mok showed his explosiveness all afternoon and also found the end zone from seven yards out.
Zach Jackson rounded out the scoring when he stepped in front of a pass from his cornerback position and raced untouched up the sidelines from 30-yards out.
The success of the skilled players all starts with the Trojans talented interior line that dominated the trenches. Dylan Roach had four tackles and a pair of quarterback sacks to lead the defence. Kyle Lambert also had four tackles while Dayton Williamson chipped in with three.
“I think we are on a good course,” continued Haddow. “Tyler is a special athlete for sure. When you put a guy like that behind that line, with a couple of backs who can really scoot and a receiver who is pretty special too, it adds up to some pretty exciting stuff on offence.
“The kids are playing well but, at the same time, we are trying to put this into perspective too. It makes us happy to see the kids are coming to practice all the time. We are getting lots done and they are working really hard. That is translating into our games. The mistakes have been minimal.”
Boyd will be back home Sept. 30 to take on Windsor in what will be the first Friday Night Lights game of the season with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
