Coming off a pair of nail-biting losses that were long on drama but short on satisfaction, the W.J. Mouat Hawks wasted little time eliminating any suspense against the Holy Cross Crusaders on Friday.

The Hawks, ranked No. 5 on the AAA high school football scene, dominated every facet of the game at Mouat Field, racing out to a 35-0 lead in the first quarter en route to a 44-7 victory.

The road to the early offensive explosion was paved by an opportunistic Hawks defence, which came up with five turnovers – four fumble recoveries and an interception.

"We really only needed a few plays to put them away," said Hawks coach Denis Kelly, whose team evened its conference record at 1-1. "And we were anxious to get a league win, because with only five league games you can't afford to fall too far behind."

Friday's decisive win goes a long way towards erasing the disappointment of the past two weeks, when the Hawks fell 36-33 to the No. 2-ranked New West Hyacks in exhibition action, and 24-21 to the No. 3 Centennial Centaurs in conference play.

Tailback Allan Dicks missed last week's game against Centennial due to food poisoning, but he was back with a vengeance on Friday night with a pair of touchdown runs of 60-plus yards. Fullback Drew Chung also ran for a pair of scores, while Tanner Hamade and John Watson caught scoring passes from Cam Bedore.

The Hawks face another elite opponent this week, as the Terry Fox Ravens come to town for a 7:30 p.m. start on Friday. The Ravens, who are currently ranked No. 1 in the province, blasted Mouat 57-16 in last year's provincial title game. Fox drew the ire of the Hawks in the fourth quarter of that contest, when they executed a fake punt with the outcome long since decided.

"The circumstances of the game, the things that happened there, probably all led to that frustration," Kelly said, attempting to downplay any lingering bitterness over the fake punt. "It was just a matter of being dominated and not feeling very good about it, that's the main thing.

"But for (our) guys that were there, I'm sure it'll be something that they will remember, and they'll use it for Friday night."

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The Rick Hansen Hurricanes' reign atop the provincial AA rankings figures to end this week, after they dropped a 14-7 decision to the Seaquam Seahawks on their home field on Friday.

"It would be nice to be No. 1 all year and win at the end," Hansen coach Paul Gill acknowledged. "But like I said at the beginning of the year, the only ranking that counts is the one at the end."

In Gill's estimation, his team didn't make enough plays to merit a victory against Seaquam, and that manifested itself on the scoreboard. The Hurricanes took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter on Greg Bowcott's two-yard TD pass to Mitch Lesyk, but were unable to muster much after that.

"Our defence was on the field too long, and offensively, we had too many three-and-outs," Gill said. "We lost the battle in the trenches."

The Hurricanes will look to get back on track on Friday, when they visit the Hugh Boyd Trojans. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

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The Abbotsford Collegiate Panthers hosted their first home game of the season on Saturday afternoon, and they found themselves in tough against the Sands Scorpions.

The Scorpions are ranked No. 5 in AA, and they backed up that lofty status with a 43-0 victory over Abby Collegiate.

Panther coach Jay Fujimura found a silver lining in the play of his team's youthful linebacking corps, which grew sturdier against the run as the game wore on, and quarterback Carson Williams hung tough against a relentless Sands pass rush.

The Panthers hit the road on Saturday to take on the Mission Roadrunners in a 1:30 p.m. start.