A pair of rivalry games are on tap for the South Delta Sun Devils senior varsity football team.
On Friday night, South Delta heads to Mercer Stadium for its annual tilt against the New West Hyacks for the Bill Kushnir Bronze Boot, named after the longtime Delta resident, teacher and administrator who was responsible for launching the football programs at both schools. The game no longer has playoff implications after conference re-alignment moved the Hyacks out of the Western AAAA Division and into the Central.
New West captured the Bronze Boot in 2021 with a 14-12 win on a rain-soaked SDSS Oval. Kickoff on Friday is slated for 7:30 p.m.
The Sun Devils then head to John Oliver Park on Saturday, Oct. 1 to face the Seaquam Seahawks in the Delta Bowl. This trophy was introduced a year ago by the City of Delta as the Devils rallied in the second half for a 34-21 victory.
This year’s battle will also count towards the regular season standings even though the Seahawks have also joined the Hyacks in the Central AAA Division. The off-season changes included one non-conference game for every team having playoff implications.
South Delta currently sits 2-1 in non-conference play after a 28-21 road win over South Kamloops. The Titans are part of the Interior AA Conference. The Sun Devils dropped a 39-16 decision to the No. 3 AAA ranked Terry Fox Ravens two weeks ago after opening the 2022 campaign with a 38-8 win over Handsworth.
Quarterback Kenny Scott led the way against South Kamloops with 296 yards passing and three touchdowns.
“We just couldn’t tackle against Terry Fox and got that corrected against South Kam,” said Sun Devils head coach Ray Moon. “Kenny had a nice game and we’ve got bit of a running game this year with a couple of quick backs.”
Getting a bulk of the carries are Grade 11s Cameron Trolland and Cameron Trolland, along with senior Tysen O’Neil.
Moon is unsure what to expect against a New West team that lost 16-0 to Earl Marriott in its opener, then hung tough with Lord Tweedsmuir in a 26-20 defeat, before rolling past Sullivan Heights 39-0 last weekend.
“They lose to a questionable team then hang tough with Tweedsmuir. They will be a dangerous team and we know they are going to be playing hard.”
The Seahawks take their 1-2 non-conference schedule into their Saturday home game against Kelowna’s Mt. Boucherie. They dropped a 21-16 decision to Belmont last weekend in Victoria.
