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Vernon Panthers place seven on all-star football squad

Vernon Panthers dominate Interior Senior Varsity AA Football all-star team; Fulton, PVSS have one player each named to squad

The Vernon Panthers will enter the 2024 B.C. AA/AAA Hybrid high school senior varsity football playoffs as the No. 1 seed. 

And they'll do it with a plethora of all-star players.

The Cats have the Interior Conference's offensive Most Valuable Player in quarterback Cole Budgen. He's joined on the conference all-star squad by seven teammates.

Offensive linemen Taylor Robins-Swanson and Owen Carpenter were named to the team, as were wide receiver Anderson Bicknell and running back Jonah Lee.

Linebacker Jeff Curtis, and defensive backs Josh Tonge and Coby Therrien were selected to the team on the defensive side of the ball.

Defensive lineman Reid Williamson of the Fulton Maroons, and linebacker Arel Ciccone of Armstrong's Pleasant Valley Hawks, were also named to the team.

All players will have a chance to be named provincial all-stars later this month.

The Panthers, the defending B.C. AA champions, are the only North Okanagan team to make the senior varsity post-season.

They've been seeded No.1, and will play their first playoff game Friday, Nov. 15, against the winner of a wildcard game between the eighth-seeded Argyle Pipers of North Vancouver and league rival South Kamloops Titans (No. 9 seed) at Greater Vernon Athletic Park. Game time is slated to be 7 p.m.

The game will be Seniors Night, saluting the graduating VSS players. Fans are encouraged to wear white in the stands to form a VSS white-out.

The provincial championship game is set for Saturday, Nov. 30, at B.C. Place Stadium.

Vernon is currently ranked No. 2 nationally in the Canada Football Chat Top-10 Small School rankings. The Panthers (7-1) sit behind the Holy Trinity Academy Knights (6-1) of Okotoks, Alta. Bishop James Mahoney Saints of Saskatoon (6-2) is No. 3.

The only other B.C. school in the top-10 is North Vancouver's Windsor Dukes, seeded No. 7 at 6-1.

There are two undefeated teams among the top-10. The Holy Rosary Raiders of Lloydminster, Alta. are ranked No. 4 at 9-0, while the 8-0 F.W. Johnson Collegiate Wildcats of Regina are slotted in at No. 8.

The Interior AA Conference champion Vernon Panthers will sit and wait to find out their first-round opponent in the Junior Varsity post-season.

The Panthers will play a quarterfinal game either Wednesday, Nov. 13, or Thursday, Nov. 14, against an opponent to be determined.



Roger Knox

About the Author: Roger Knox

I am a journalist with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. I started my career in radio and have spent the last 21 years working with Black Press Media.
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