©2023 Copyright ISN
September 8, 2023 Langford, BC (ISN) – The Junior Varsity Belmont Bulldogs put a stamp on preseason high school exhibition play with a dominating 50-12 win over visiting Ballenas Whalers of Parksville Friday afternoon at Goudy Field in Langford, BC.
After a disappointing 36-22 loss last week to GW Graham of Vancouver, Friday’s game was a great display of what exhibition game play can do to dial in playbook and players to regular season ahead. Belmont would dominate offensively and defensively most of the game. Amassing an impressive 402 yards offense, and picking off the Whalers quarterback 4 times for interceptions, the Bulldogs made it a long afternoon for the visiting side.
The Bulldogs, fortunate to have two outstanding freshman quarterbacks in Ty Gilbert and Jake Hansen, both products of the Westshore Warriors minor league community program, will have no trouble with ball distribution this 10-game, high school football season. A luxury not common to high school football, Bulldogs’ Head Coach Alexis Sanschagrin will have his choice to rotate his quarterbacks in on a game-to-game basis. Sanschagrin gave the nod to Hansen for Friday’s game, after Gilbert’s “shift” last week to open the exhibition season. Hansen would guide the Bulldogs with 350 yards passing in the game, in his first game of his high school football career.
Having the unusual luxury to have two freshman quarterbacks that play well, Coach Sanschagrin would comment post-game, ” It’s great to have that luxury of two quarterbacks that are very good. Ty Gilbert did well last week, and Jacob did fantastic job today. It’s great to see the results. It’s great to see them supporting each other as teammates.”
Laser-focused with his passing and play-calling, Hansen had no shortage of offensive weapons at his disposal as he would engineer his Belmont offensive squad to a 30-6 half time lead, after the Whalers would score their only major of the half with a running play on their first call of the game. The Whalers would bookend their scoring opportunities, also scoring the final touchdown in the game, but Bulldogs would control the grid iron the majority of the afternoon, scoring another twenty points in the second half of the game in the 50-12 win.
One way to keep your offense team happy is to distribute the ball to as many weapons as possible, and Hansen did just that in keeping Ballenas back on their heels. Hansen, throwing 14/19, would score 7 touchdowns using 5 different receivers.
Receivers Chase Doucette, and Isaac Bamara would each score a pair of TD’s. Doucette would maximize his time on the field, covering 114 yards receiving with only four receptions, while Bamara would score his pair of majors on an average 41.5 yards receiving with only 2 receptions from Belmont’s Hansen. Kaeno Bekkering, Darius Gray, and Sachin Olak would all add a touchdown to the winning cause.
Defensively, the Bulldogs seemed unstoppable, both at the line and in the secondary. The Whalers would never really find an offensive rhythm under the relentless pressure of Belmont’s big defensive line. Rushing the Whalers quarterback often, Belmont would pick off Ballenas four times in the game. Ethan Anderson would record a pair of picks, while Makio Orr and Darius Gray, playing both sides of the ball, would each record an interception to hinder the Whaler play calling.
The JV Bulldogs will host St.Thomas More Knights September 14th at 2:15pm in another preseason exhibiton game. The regular season gets underway in earnest October 5th when Belmont travels across town to play the Mount Douglas Rams in a rivalry that is always spirited.
