It was back to business as usual this week after one of the most memorable days in the history of the Hugh Boyd Trojans football program.
Alumni, colleagues, friends and family were on hand for Bill and Bruce Haddow’s final home game as they wind down their remarkable coaching careers that extend over four decades. The brothers were honoured last Friday and the alumni hosted an after party at The Buck and Ear Bar and Grill in Steveston.
Among the well-wishes was CFL Hall of Famer and fellow Richmond High alumni Jim Mills, along with B.C. Football Hall of Fame inductee Matt Phillips who had a huge role in the development of high school football in Richmond. He helped launch programs at Steveston, Cambie and London.
Phillips coached the Haddows when they played for the junior team at Cambie. Now 84 and battling cancer, he has remained in touch with them over the years and took in the entire game from the west end zone. He has also been a regular visitor at Bill’s other passion— his White Rock Beach Beer Company’s tasting room.
“He coached me at Cambie in Grades 9-10 back in the early 1970s and he was already a legend back then,” laughed Bill. “He is still super sharp and loves talking Xs and Os. He was a major influence on how we ended up here.”
So was their coach at Richmond High — the late Archie Skemp who was part of the 2017 induction class for the B.C. Football Hall of Fame and ran the powerhouse Richmond Raiders junior program in the 1980s.
On the field, the Barsby Bulldogs prevented a perfect day for Boyd Football with a 34-13 victory.
The Trojans scored on their opening possession as running back Reace Mok capped off an impressive march, but the Nanaimo school took over thanks to a balanced attack and a physical defence.
The Bulldogs took a 13-7 lead into the second half and doubled the margin when Colin Nutting stepped in front of quarterback Byron Ruvalcaba’s pass and raced 65-yards to paydirt.
“At that point we are only down seven, our offence was making plays and we were moving the football,” said Bill. “That was the turning point right there and took the wind out of our sails.
“(Barsby) certainly had more noticeable athletic talent than they have had in the past so they can throw the ball. We weren’t unhappy about that at all because we like our pass defence a lot. But they hadn’t really run the ball well this year so that was a bit of a surprise. They have a couple of big backs and big linemen too so there weren’t many gaps for us to shoot through.”
The loss dropped Boyd’s record to 1-2 in conference play and sets up a battle for third place in the Western “AA” Conference tonight at the Burnaby Lakes West Sports Complex against the Argyle Pipers.
The North Vancouver school (2-1) produced a 21-14 road win over Ballenas (0-3) last week. The Trojans will then close out their regular season a week later against winless Holy Cross.
“They like to throw the football which, again, is a good match-up for us. But they have some athletes that we definitely will have to pay attention too,” added Bill.
