A second straight provincial title looked to be in the cards for the Vernon Senior Panthers as they went into the second half of the championship game at B.C. Place in Vancouver with a 14-0 lead over the Windsor Wolves.
But the Wolves' offence woke up in the final two quarters and the defence held strong, leading to a thrilling 17-14 victory that earned Windsor its first B.C. title since 2017.
The first quarter of the B.C. AA High School Senior Varsity Football championship game went scoreless, with both teams turning over the ball in their opponent's territory.
In the second quarter, Panthers star quarterback Cole Budgen threw a goal-line fade to Anderson Bicknell in the end zone for a touchdown. The Panthers missed the PAT, giving themselves a 6-0 lead.
Later in the quarter, Tanner Hanson intercepted a pass and ran the ball back to the Wolves' one-yard line. The Panthers punched it into the end zone from there and completed a two-point convert, putting them up 14-0.
Windsor then completed a 60-yard drive in the third quarter with Emmet Ward scoring the touchdown to get the Wolves on the board. Windsor would add a field goal to make it a 14-10 game heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, Windsor threw the ball deep in a fourth-and-long situation, but it was intercepted on the Panthers' five-yard line. The Panthers then drove the ball deep into Windsor territory, thanks in part to a 42-yard catch and run by Ayden McDonald.
With less than five minutes on the clock, the Panthers found themselves on the Windsor 10-yard line, in prime position to extend their lead. But, in what would be the game’s pivotal moment, the fourth-and-six field goal attempt sailed wide, leaving the door open for Windsor. The Wolves capitalized, driving 83 yards down the field in just over three minutes before quarterback Emmett Ward, who was named game MVP, tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to give Windsor a 17-14 lead with just 63 seconds remaining.
The Panthers had 1:50 left on the clock to at least get a field goal and send the game to overtime, but on fourth and 10 around mid-field the Panthers came inches short of the first-down marker, turning it over on downs and sealing the victory for the Wolves.
"I thought we had opportunities to seal the game, but we just couldn’t get it done when it counted," said Panther head coach Sean Smith. We had the ball first and 10 at their 10 with under five minutes to go. Windsor played a great game, executed well, and they made the plays at the end. Credit to them. Their players and coaching staff deserved the win."
The loss marked the end of an era for several key Panther players, particularly a core group of grade 12 athletes. Budgen, who completed 14 of 22 passes for 178 yards in the final, along with tailback Jonah Lee (19 carries, 99 yards, one TD), will graduate, as will Bicknell and Jeff Curtis.
The Panthers were looking to win back-to-back championships for the second time in six years after winning provincial titles in 2018, 2019 and 2023.
"This is a special group of players," Smith said. "They were in three straight provincial championships and won a lot of games together. It’s tough to lose this way, but they should be proud. They are champions in my eyes for how they’ve represented our program and showed our younger players what is needed to compete at the highest level in the province."
For Windsor, the win marked their first championship in seven years and third since 2005.
Despite the loss, Smith added that he is hoping that the "next generation is ready to take the torch."
"We may not have won this year, but we’ve built something special here in Vernon."
