FCC2017: British Columbia ends up fifth in Cup return

British Columbia left a great impression in their return to the national championship.

On Friday afternoon, the team finished fifth place at the 2017 Football Canada Cup after earning a 24-10 victory over host Nova Scotia.

Leaving Wolfville, British Columbia amassed a 2-1 record.  Meanwhile, Nova Scotia ended up in sixth place with a 1-2 mark.

With less than two minutes left in the first quarter, Jalen Philpot rushed into the end zone for a four yard touchdown to give British Columbia the early lead.

Quarterback Michael Calvert connected with Keelan White for a 65 yard major.

British Columbia went into halftime with a 17-0 advantage over Nova Scotia after Douglas Jameson added a 18 yard field goal.

Clay Pelton-Kelly got Nova Scotia on the scoreboard in the third quarter when he added a 36 yard field goal.

Philpot added his second major of the game in the fourth quarter.

Nova Scotia got their first touchdown in the game with 6:52 left as quarterback Caleb Melanson found Jayden Simmons for the score.

Players of the Game for British Columbia were Philpot (offence) and DT Joe Nickel (defence).  Nova Scotia Players of the Game were Melanson (offence) and LB Lourenz Bowers (defence).

“Our coaches did a great job on film,” commented British Columbia Head Coach Cory Philpot after the game.  “We have some great players; we are a team and we needed to execute the things we needed to get done.”

Philpot was reflective of the team’s journey to their return back to the Football Canada Cup.

“The boys came here to play football,” he expressed.  “All I could ask of them was to come here and play their best and I’m just thankful to get these guys back to the Football Canada Cup.”

“It’s emotional for me because I’ve worked hard the past year to get these guys the opportunity and that’s all I can ask for.”

As for the host Nova Scotia, the slow start in the first half was reflected on the scoreboard.

“The biggest thing was execution and tackling,” assessed Nova Scotia Head Coach Bryce Fisher.  “Our kids really needed to come out a little bit more in the first half but the second half, they came out and played hard, but when it really came down to it, they (BC offensively) showed some different stuff they were doing.”

“We prepped for a lot of stuff they were doing, it wasn’t anything out of the books we didn’t think was going on.  Hats off to them, they played a really hard game.”

Overall, Fisher was satisfied with how the host team played at home in this year’s tournament.

“We battled through the entire tournament and had some nicks and bruises,” he added.  “Our squad played really well throughout the entire tournament.  I’m extremely proud of them.”

This post is also available in: French