Game Results

Premier: Velox Valhallians 29  v  Cowichan 3

- written by John Phillips
 
Cowichan have always been a tough team to beat, especially on their home ground and todays game prove to be no different with Cowichan playing its usual hard game. Velox always looked as though it was going to win but with Cowichan playing an in your face defensive game it forced Velox into handling errors making them work hard for every point.
 
Both teams' defence was sound, with the Velox pack repeatedly overpowering their opponents in the scrum causing several turnovers. Velox made it hard on themselves, committing several handling errors with some loose passing and a loss of patience when close to the line. The first score of the game was a nice try by Centre Doug Hemmingway in the 15th minute of the game, the first of his three tries. The most enterprising of Veloxs tries was score by No.11 Andrew Hopkins who feed off a great break by Flanker Ray Young up the center to score in the corner for Veloxs second try.
 
With the score 15 v 3 at half time the game continued much the same as before with both teams turning in strong defensive efforts however it was not enough with Velox scoring a further two tries by an in form Doug Hemmingway. In the end it was Veloxs swarming defence, which forced Cowichan into too many errors that told in the end keeping Cowichan tryless.
 
With the four tries, earning them a bonus point Velox have settled on 22 points in the competition placing them third behind James Bay and CW. In order to make one of the final four teams and to enter the last round of the Premier competition Velox will have to win at least one of their last three games against some tough opposition. The first of the three remaining games in round one will be against Castaway Wanderers at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday the 20th of November at Velox Park. It should be a great game with both teams at near full strength, muscled up by the return of their International players from tour duties.
 
Best Player for Velox was Doug Hemmingway who scored three fine tries, a great individual performance.
 
For  Velox:  3 tries to  Doug Hemmingway, 1 to Andy Hopkins and 3 conversions and a Penalty to Konrad Nikkel
 
For Cowichan:  Penalty by Robin McDowell
 
 
First Division: Velox B's 42 - Courtenay 32

A squad from Courtenay made the trip down Sunday to play the Beavers - the return trip from our exhibition game up Island last month. Velox led through out the game, and maintained control of most of the play despite some defensive breakdowns.

Man of the match went to Sean, and the "where have you been" award was shared by Homer and Sarg. Thanks go to Micha for refereeing, and Doug for cooking up a fabulous meal for the boys.


Sr Women: Velox 10 - Pocomo 7

With travel delays and a long ambulance wait for an injured Pocomo player, the game was severely shortened. The ladies pulled off a narrow victory though, extending their record to 5-1. This week, they play Douglas (who are responsible for the ladies only loss at 22-20).


Jr Women: Velox 25 - Port Alberni 0

I'm not entirely sure of the score, but I believe it was 5 tries to zero. Regardless, it was a strong effort from Velox who dominated throughout.
 
 
Upcoming Games

The Premiers play Saturday at home, 2:45 kickoff against Oak Bay. With a 4-3 record (3rd place) and three games remaining, Velox has yet to guarantee a spot in Premier come January. Velox managed a narrow victory against CW last time around, so it should be an entertaining match.

The B's also play Saturday at home, 1pm against Nanaimo. It's actually the quarter finals: the VIRU 1st division season needs to be finished up before Christmas (clubs going to the province wide Premier competition in the new year take their first division squads with them).

Velox has finished 3rd in the division (CW 1st, JBAA 2nd), but it has been a tight race. Velox, Cowichan (4th), and Port Alberni (5th) have each finished 3-3. We had a number of missing players at practice Tuesday night though: those guys need to get back out and show their commitment.

The sr women are at home as well this weekend, with a 1pm kick off on Sunday against Douglas. The jr women are in Cowichan on Sunday at 11:30.


Grey Cup

Sunday is Grey Cup day (3:30 KO). The club will be open for the game, so bring all your friends by to watch on the big screen. As is tradition, there will be a game of touch football beforehand (2pm) and a half time chili contest. John Lyall* will claim victory again unless we can get a few other entries in.


Maude Hunters - new sponsor!

As of today, Maude Hunters Pub have come on board as one of our Club  Sponsors for the 2004 - 2005 season. What does this mean for us? Any Velox Club member going into Maudes  can now buy 3 pitchers of beer (Canadian or Pipers) and will get their 4th FREE! Also, Large Nachos (normally
retailing at around $15) cost Velox club members only $5!

Over each 3 month period, Maude's will tally up how much club members have spent in the Pub collectively and will give a portion back to the club as a rebate. We also have the opportunity to book for larger parties at the Pub.

All you need to do is let the waitresses know that you're from Velox and they'll know about the 3 + 1 on pitchers and Nacho deals. You will need to keep your receipts though and pass them on to Anthony Mirando in order for us to receive our rebate.


Canadian Cancer Society Fundraising

Chad Vath's mother in Edmonton is shaving her head to help raise money to combat cancer. Anyone interested in making a donation can talk to Chad on Thursday. Any donation over $10 will get a tax reciept from the canadian cancer society. He will supply pictures of the head shaving after the fact.

Sounds like a perfect opportunity to find out if Chad's lumpy skull is genetic, or if he was dropped on the head too many times.