ERIC HAMBER 14 -- 33 PITT MEADOWS
BC PLACE --- It wasn鈥檛 their day, not by a long shot, but the Hamber Griffins played as if they could turn it around and win in the end. That's grit.
Even when the Pitt Meadows Marauders led by four touchdowns, and the Griffins quarterback was sacked again and again, when they faced third and 25, when a punt was blocked听 --- the Griffins kept up. That's guts.
They went for onside kicks, two-point conversions, gambled on fourth-down and scrambled all game, listening to an assistant coach shout from the sidelines, 鈥淕et your energy back.鈥� They rallied. They didn鈥檛 win.
鈥淚t ain鈥檛 my body that鈥檚 injured,鈥� said Cedrick Henderson, the Griffins quarterback and emotional leader who threw for two touchdown passes and an extra two-point convert.
His face wet from perspiration and tears, Henderson had few words after the loss but praised his line-mates and said he should have done more.
鈥淭his meant everything. I played here five years, it鈥檚 everything. It鈥檚 been a good ride for five years," he said.
The Griffins played in the 2014 championship, . Tonight marked their return to the titular game, just their second shot since the program started six seasons ago.
After going 2-2 in the varsity Tier II season, the Griffins fell behind the undefeated Maurauders 13-0 before getting on the board in the second quarter.
Arthur Lee snagged a 14-yard pass from Henderson who broke free of the pocket to keep the play alive.
鈥淚 ran to the end zone and I saw Cedrick scrambling around,鈥� said Lee. 鈥淚 found some space for myself, saw the ball and that鈥檚 it.鈥�
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Pitt Meadows scored before the half ended, but on the Maurauders鈥� opening drive of the second half, Lee picked off a pass to give the Griffins a surge. Their momentum faltered when Henderson was sacked, a high tackle taking him down by the head and sending him off the field.
To worsen the blow, the Griffins were forced to kicked on fourth and 28, but the Marauders blocked the punt and recovered the ball 15 yards from the end zone. They scored three plays later.
The Griffins were sparked by the rushing gains of Jeffroy Ojang, who started their second successful drive with a 30-yard punt return and set up Hamber on their own 43 yard line.
Pushed back to the 37, the Griffins made a gutsy decision to hang on to the ball on fourth down. Henderson broke for it and gained 20 yards. He then aired a 30-yard pass over two defenders to find Sebastian Kondratowski who sprinted into the open end zone. The Griffins scored two more points on the conversion to record the final points of the game.
Hamber wanted a better result but didn鈥檛 back down when their ambitions weren鈥檛 realized against a team that shut them out 20-0 a month earlier.
鈥淚t was our goal all year to get here and we got here,鈥� said Lee. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 really get it together when it came down to it, but I couldn鈥檛 ask for more. Pitt is a really good team.鈥�
The Grade 11 running back tried out to be the Griffins quarterback, but the position was won by Henderson who graduates this year.
鈥淚鈥檝e never met anyone like Cedrick,鈥� Lee said of the QB1. 鈥淗e puts his whole heart into the team. It鈥檚 a clich茅 to say it, but he is always the first one out and the last one to leave. The team rallied behind him. He leads by example.鈥�
Although Henderson will hang up his helmet on his high school playing career, Lee, Kondratowski and six more Grade 11 players stand to return next season.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be back next year,鈥� said Lee.
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