College’s Fighting Irish prevail over Jugglers

The Vancouver College Fighting Irish withstood a gritty and determined Notre Dame Juggler team to win the 51st annual Archbishops’ Trophy by a score of 20 to 12. The rivalry is one of the longest standing in B.C. school sports, and the Vancouver College win reduces Notre Dame’s lead in the series to 26-24-1.

Dave Fong / Special to The B.C. Catholic Archbishop Roussin presents the Archbishops’ Trophy to captains Ryan Shams, Alex Hernandez, Jamal Allen, Daniel Gabrilo, and Michael Patko.

The hard-fought game, on Nov. 2 at Burnaby Lake Park, was a showcase of good defence and hard-nosed running. Archbishop Raymond Roussin, SM, was on hand to present his trophy to the Irish, along with individual awards to Sean Terrell and Andrew Lee of Vancouver College, and to Carlo Graziano of Notre Dame.

The Jugglers drew first blood on a touchdown run by the game’s most outstanding back, Carlo Graziano, taking a 6-0 lead with the unconverted end-zone run. The Irish responded with a rushing touchdown of their own; they quickly moving the ball on the strength of running backs Jamal Allen and Chris Chan, and then quarterback Michael Patko tied the game with a one-yard dive. A Chris Adams convert gave College a 7-6 lead.

The Irish increased their lead in the third quarter with a copy of their first touchdown; Allen and Chan again ran the ball through the Juggler defence and Patko made another one-yard dive. There was no convert; the score was 13-6.

A noteworthy turning point in the game occurred late in the third quarter when the Jugglers had a first down and goal to go from the College one-yard line. The Irish defence, led by Sean Terrell, the game’s Most Valuable Player, stopped Notre Dame on four consecutive running attempts, and then College was in possession.

In the final quarter the Irish struck again. This time it was Jamal Allen, who rushed for 202 yards in the game, going in from five yards out, to make the score 20-6.

The Jugglers made the game interesting by scoring again in the final seconds of the game; final score 20-12.