It was a long day for the Mt. Boucherie Bears when they visited Cloverdale Sept. 7.
The West Kelowna school brought both their Junior Varsity and AAA Senior Varsity squads to battle the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers in a pair of exhibiotion games to open the 2024 football season.
Unfortunately for the tourists, Tweedy won both games by a combined score of 61-12, with the Bears only managing to punch in one unconverted touchdown per game. The JV game ended 21-6 and the varsity game finshed up 40-6.
New Panther head coach, and former player, Michael Carter couldn’t have asked for a better start and to his coaching career at the school. Carter, a 2014 grad, was named head coach this past spring.
He said it was a “great day” for the program with two convincing wins over the visitors from the Okanagan.
“We executed our game plan, which was to be physical on defence and play tough from the opening whistle through all four quarters,” Carter said. “I was pleased with the complete team effort in all phases [of the game].”
He added that he was impressed by the play of Grade 11 Tyler Jones. Jones marched onto the field to play six different positions over the course of the game.
"I’ve never seen that before in high school football,” Carter noted.
On offence, Jones lined up as a guard and running back. On defence, Jones played linebacker and safety. On special teams, Jones handled both the punting and placekicking duties for the Panthers.
The game also featured an historic first for Lord Tweedsmuir as Grade 11-player Kayla Dean became the first girl to play for the Panthers in a Senior Varsity match. Dean lined up on both sides of the ball, playing both offensive and defensive line.
Logan Wager, a wide receiver, scored two of LT’s six touchdowns, with Jack Roberts (WR), Logan Ginther (tight end), Brody Muller (running back), and QB Chase Thurston adding one each.
JUNIOR
In the JV tilt, head coach Mike Reamsbottom’s squad dominated Mt. Boucherie in all areas of the game. Lord Tweedsmuir scored three converted touchdowns against a solitary TD from Mt. Boucherie to win the game 21-6.
Quarterback Carter Jorgensen cut into the end zone on a short run to score the first of Tweedy’s touchdowns. Wide receiver Mekhi Mindingall added the Panthers' second TD on a short catch and run, evading Mt. Boucherie defenders on his way to the goal line. And Grade 9 Jayden Lord had a game-breaking kick return as he busted through the Bear’s kickoff team to dart 60 yards to the house.
The pair of games also marked the beginning of the 20th year for football at Lord Tweedmuir. It’s been two decades since the program was inaugurated in 2004. To celebrate the milestone, the school hosted a special ceremony to honour school alumni during halftime of the varsity game on Sept. 7.
Both the Junior and Senior Varsity squads play their next games on Friday, Sept. 13 against the Handsworth Royals at Lord Tweedsmuir. The JV game kicks off at 1 p.m. and the Varsity game kicks off at 3:30 p.m.
