Spectrum and its predecessor, Mount View, were best known for field sports other than football. Even its greatest gridiron alumni 鈥� respective Super Bowl and Grey Cup champion NFL and CFL placekicking greats Eddie Murray and Dave Cutler 鈥� played soccer and rugby at the schools.
All that will change today when Spectrum plays in its first sa国际传媒 championship game in football.
鈥淲e are starting to grow the culture of football at the school,鈥� Thunder head coach Darren Vaux said.
鈥淲e held a pep rally at the school to send the team off to the provincial final, and that was a first for Spectrum in football.鈥�
The Thunder meet the Eric Hamber Griffins of Vancouver today in the Subway Bowl Tier II provincial high school championship game at sa国际传媒 Place Stadium after beating the Frank Hurt Hornets of Surrey 28-12 last weekend in the semifinals, following a 3-1 regular season. The semifinal victory more than made up for a 3-0 Spectrum loss in overtime to Frank Hurt in the regular season.
Fledgling Spectrum, which began its football program in 2013 under Roy Vollinger, is looking to eventually move up from Tier II. But all things have to start somewhere. Vaux knows it will take time. As a player, he came out of a championship Cowichan Chiefs program and played two seasons of university football as defensive end for the UBC Thunderbirds in 1990 and 1991.
The biggest lesson Vaux said he learned from legendary Thunderbirds coach Frank Smith was 鈥渁bout persistence 鈥� of sticking to your original plan and following it.鈥�
Vaux is willing to stay the course. Winning the sa国际传媒 crown in Tier II won鈥檛 hurt in getting to the levels achieved in past seasons in triple-A and double-A by former Island powers Mount Douglas and Ballenas.
As inspiration, the Thunder have pointed to the Belmont Bulldogs, who also began from scratch a few years ago, and are now playing in triple-A and have produced players such as NCAA Div. 1 Fresno State lineman Dontae Bull.
With starting quarterback Cam Ross and star middle linebacker Harrison Kuromi both only in Grade 11, the foundation is there for another strong season in 2018.
鈥淎nd the new school district policy [which places emphasis on catchment areas] is going to be huge for us moving ahead,鈥� Vaux said.
Part of that long-term Thunder vision involves eventually having a turf playing field laid at Spectrum.
But for Grade 12 leaders such as running back Brandon Robbins, receiver Carson Vaux and versatile all-positions standout Sahjun Sehmi, the here and now is their shining moment. Winning the first provincial football championship in school history would be quite the way to go out.
Spectrum beat Eric Hamber 34-13 in their regular-season meeting, but Vaux and his charges are taking nothing for granted.
A key today in the final will be the tailback, Robbins, who perhaps fittingly because of the legacy of Murray and Cutler, came to football this season from soccer. Robbins scampered for three touchdowns in the semifinal win over Frank Hurt and ran for more than 100 yards in every game this season,
PREP NOTES: There will be a new sa国际传媒 boys鈥� high school triple-A soccer champion. Dr. Charles Best defeated the defending-champion Reynolds Roadrunners 3-1 in the semifinals on Friday at Burnaby Lake. It will be an all-Fraser Valley final today when Dr. Charles Best meets Panorama Ridge in the championship game. Reynolds will play L.A. Matheson of Surrey in the bronze-medal game. Oak Bay will meet Fleetwood Park of Surrey in the fifth-sixth place game.
