The Meadow Ridge Blue Knights junior bantam football team is heading to the Valley Community Football League championships after knocking off the Abbotsford Falcons 18-14 on Saturday.

The Blue Knights, who finished the regular season with a 6-4 record, led the top-ranked 9-1 Falcons from start to finish. Cole Eskandar got the Blue Knights on the board, running back a first quarter interception 40 yards for a touchdown for an early 6-0 lead. In the second quarter, David Rainey rumbled 55 yards for a major score to open up a 12-0 lead. Abbotsford replied with a 40-yard touchdown run of their own, and the Knights held a narrow halftime lead of 12-8.

Eskandar scored again in the second half, this time on a 10-yard run to give the Knights an 18-8 lead. Abbotsford scored a touchdown with 20 seconds left in the game to narrow the gap to 18-14. Jessie Goerzen recovered the ensuing onside kick for the Blue Knights, allowing them to run out the clock for the victory.

The Blue Knights defense was lead by Cole Polack, Kurtis Blaine and Aiden Bushell. Jackson Murdoch had his best game of the season leading the offense at quarterback and Spencer Clinton and William Beale were standouts on the offensive line. 

The Blue Knights advance to the league championship this Saturday, when they will take on the Chilliwack Blue Knights at Townsend Park in Chilliwack.

However, the other four Meadow Ridge squads did not fare as well in their first-round play-off appearances, each making a quick exit from the post-season.

The peewee Gold Knights lost 46-8 to Chilliwack, while the peewee Blue Knights team lost 30-12 to Abbotsford.

The atom Gold Knights team ended their season with a 20-0 loss to Abbotsford. Tato Ferreyro Araya, Kailesh Kumar and Jake Loftus made some good gains on offense. The defense had some great tackles by Darius Joseph, Mason Reeves, Adam Brass and Sebastien Sparks.

The Knights’ midget team lost 48-0 to Kelowna in their final game of the season. Several players were out with injuries, forcing the Knights to play with a roster of 21. Matt George made some great catches from quarterback Brodie Moniz De Sa. Ryan Kiovsky, in his final game with the Knights, ran the ball well. Dustin Fletcher intercepted a pass on defense while Adam Burns epitomized the heart and soul of the team by doing everything possible on both sides of the ball. The team selected Nate McRoberts as the Most Sportsman-like Player, while Steve Clegg was selected the team’s Most Improved Player. Adam Burns was given the game ball.