Spartans Call Big Kahuna Home

BURNABY, BC - The Skyline Spartans take the Big Kahuna 7-on-7 Passing Challenge pretty seriously. While most teams use the weekend to bone up on their offensive and defensive schemes and bond as a team for their upcoming seasons, the Spartans use the challenge to light their competitive fires and bond as a football community.

And when quarterback Jason Harris took Skyline's first possession of the tournament and turned it into a one-play touchdown drive, it was just more of the same. For two days in July, the Spartans truly put the 'burn' in Burnaby.

"That was nice," said Harris - named the Big Kahuna's Offensive MVP - on the opening touchdown, a signal not only to his team that he was more than willing and able to carry the Spartans on his shoulders, but also a sign to the competition that they really had no chance. Out of the ten players named to the All-Tournament Offensive and Defensive squads, Skyline had four - Harris, Zach Schrader, Ryan Edwards and Tony Chidiac. Schrader was huge for the Spartans down the stretch, accounting for four touchdowns and two interceptions in their 40-23 victory over Orting in the championship game.

To add even more hardware to their tournament legacy, the Spartan linemen - led by MVP Blake Kenyon and Cody Habben - won the Big Kahuna Lineman Challenge. It's the second year in a row the Skyline linemen have won their part of the event.

It was the first ever Big Kahuna showing for Coach Marty Parkhurst and the Orting Cardinals, and they were the only other team besides Skyline to put more than one player on the All-Tournament teams. Both Joe Halahuni and BJ Garcia were named to the All-Offensive squad. Third-place Centennial - led by Defensive MVP Bruce Anderson - made a little big of Big Kahuna history on Sunday, producing the highest finish ever by a Canadian High School. They defeated Lakewood 35-14 in the consolation final to earn their spot.

"The BC schools competed a lot better," said Tournament Director Farhan Lalji. They (Washington teams) are forcing our level to increase a little bit."

"It's become an expectation," said Skyline Head Coach Steve Gervais of the Spartans' success at Big Kahuna. At last count, Sunday's win makes it three in a row for the Spartans and six out of the last seven. "With the tradition - we bring up about 75 people - it's a big following. And it's so valuable to our program." Skyline uses their spring football as incentive for their players to make the trip up to Canada. Whatever Gervais and the other Spartan coaches did to get their players motivated, it worked - and it has been working for some time.

The tournament - in it's tenth year under the guidance of Lalji - has grown from a one-day passing fancy to a two-day, 28 team tournament showdown featuring teams from both the state of Washington and the province of British Columbia. "I can't believe it's been ten years," said Lalji. "When we first started this thing it was a one-day event and the team that won - Clover Park - played 7 games in one day. It was a real war of attrition. It's definitely evolved and I hope it continues to grow. Hopefully the border patrol won't get in the way."

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