The Border Bowl gives student athletes going into their high school senior year a chance to be showcased as a number of recruiters and scouts will be in attendance .  Team BC made up of 51 players ,13 of whom are from Kelowna high schools, will host Team Alberta.

The game kicks off at 6:00pm live from CNC and you can watch the game here at RyanWatters.ca.

Ryan talks with BC’s head coach Jason Farnsworth about the Border Bowl …

Following the graduation season of Max French, the Warriors have recently named their new captain.  Prince Albert native Matt Anholt will wear the “C” entering his 19 year old season.

Last year Anholt had nine goals in 51 games, spending most of the year on the checking line, providing terrific energy for his club.

Ryan talks with Anholt …

Photo courtesy of Greystoke Photography

The football game will feature British Columbia versus Alberta in an All-Star Game for high school student athletes in grade 10 and 11.

The game allows players to get exposure to University and College recruits.

The BC roster is coached by Jason Farnsworth and features 51 players from around the Province and will highlight 13 athletes from Kelowna including Mount Boucherie Bears quarterback Josiah Joseph who led his school to a 6-0 regular season last year.

The Alberta roster also features 51 players.

The game will kick-off live from CNC at 6:00pm this Saturday and can be seen right here at RyanWatters.ca.

Thursday the Owls scored three goals in the first half, on route to a 3-1 victory.  At the seven minute mark Megan Vitala would give the Owls the lead for the first time this season on the Bears.  Then at the 20 minute mark, Courtney Hemmerling would put the Owls up two with a goal that would prove to be the championship winner.  Just five minutes later Savannah Gellner would stun the Bears with the Owls third goal of the half.

In the second half the Bears would get the lone marker in the late stages of the game, as Jordan Tassone would break the shutout.

Following their sixth valley championship trophy Ryan talked with Owls head coach Arnar Bernhardsson …

The Owls are now off to the Provincial championship in North Vancouver beginning May 30.

Photo courtesy of Greystoke Photograhy – see the complete album here ..

Each high school in the Central Okanagan will have one representative from their school nominated by Monday May 27th.  Then the voting will begin! The public will be allowed to “stuff” the ballot box and vote as many times as they wish.  Show that school spirit and vote your coach as the High School Coach of the Year!

The winning coach will be announced the week of June 10th and will be highlighted on Ryan Watters.ca and win the Ultimate Sports Ticket Package.  They will win tickets to the Kelowna Rockets, West Kelowna Warriors, Kelowna Falcons, Okanagan Sun and UBC Okanagan Heat.  The High School Coach of the Year will also win an autographed 11×14 framed Team Canada photo of Shea Weber  courtesy of Shut Out Sports Collectibles.

Good luck to all the coaches and get ready to show your school spirit to name the Second Annual High School Coach of the Year!

“I’d have to say my greatest strength is my versatility,” Linttell said, “I can shoot from the outside or drive inside, score and rebound. I also see the floor well and I’m an unselfish player. I work hard on defense and keep my man in front of me.”

Linttell is versatile enough to lead his school volleyball team to a BC Provincial title and be named the tournament MVP, and then a few months later lead his Knights basketball squad to a provincial championship and earn a first team all-star. For his stellar achievements throughout the year in athletics Ryan recently received the Augie Ciancone Memorial Award as the City of Kelowna high school male athlete of the year.

Not your average wing player, Ryan was called on at times to run the point from the forward spot for his Knights squad as he averaged 17 ppg., 8 rpg., and 5 apg. while shooting an impressive 63% from the floor and 38% from three-point range. He will join last year’s Augie Ciancone award winner, Mitch Goodwin, as a core of strong local high school players that signed with the Heat.

Linttell plans to enter the Bachelor of Human Kinetics program, and believes that UBC’s Okanagan campus “is a highly reputable school.” He currently seeks to become an optometrist and boasts a 93% average while residing on the Principle’s List and Work Ethic List at the high school level. He hopes that his academic success will also translate into university success.

Ryan is fortunate in that he has an older brother, Tyler Linttell, who currently plays in the CIS and who has been able to lend advice to his younger brother for the jump in competition. “It’s much more physical than high school,” Ryan said was Tyler’s advice, “and I have a lot to do to get my body ready for next year.” He adds, however, that “I always like to play with players who are better than me so I can step my game up.”

Second-year coach Pete Guarasci is excited to add Ryan to the basketball program at UBC’s Okanagan campus. “He’s a local talent who helped lead his KCS [Kelowna Christian] team to a AA Championship. Ryan is a well-rounded basketball player with good size, athleticism and basketball IQ. We believe he has a chance to develop into a strong CIS wing player. On top of Ryan’s athletic abilities, he’s also an excellent student and teammate.”

A large part of Ryan deciding to come to UBC’s Okanagan campus after sifting through offers from other CIS schools was his familiarity with coach Guarasci. “I feel UBCO is the best fit for me. I really like coach Guarasci’s game style and he explains himself well,” said Ryan and, “I think I will grow as a player and person under his direction.”

Courtesy of Cary Mellon – UBC Okanagan Sports Information Officer

Game time is 3:15pm at the Apple Bowl

The winner moves onto the Provincials and will be the lone Okanagan representative at the tournament in North Vancouver at the beginning of June.

Ryan talks with both head coaches to get a feel for each team.

Head Coach Shane Beatty brings a new outlook, attitude and America style to the Sun.

Ryan talks with Beatty following spring camp

The D-Backs would actually take a 1-0 lead in the first inning after Ty Loeppky scored on a throwing error by the Rock catcher Brock Owens.

The lead was short lived however as the Rock would tie the ball game in the bottom of the first when Rhys Colpron scored on a Loeppky wild pitch.

In the bottom of the second the Rock would score three times after Jayden Whittemore led off with a double, he would be brought home on an RBI single by Jeran Knorr.  Owens would then score Knorr with a triple before scoring the eventual winning run after the catcher would drop strike three on the next batter Jett Walts.

The D-Backs would cut the lead in half when Chance Wilson scored on an RBI ground out off the bat of Loeppky in the top of the third.

The Rock would put the game out of reach in the fourth scoring four times. Jackson Naish would highlight the inning doubling home two, while Connor Runnalls would also record an RBI hit.

In the home half of the sixth the Rock would score four more runs and initiated the mercy rule (10 runs after five innings).  Naish recorded his third RBI of the game, while Casey Thompson tallied a sac fly, then scored on a Runnalls ground out.

The Rock qualify for a tournament semi-final with a 2-1 record, while the D-Backs fall to 0-3 and will not be moving on.

The Wild Play Element Parks Player of the Game is Rock shortstop Jackson Naish.  He would collect two hits and three RBIs while scoring twice.  He was also very good defensively at short.

The second RyanWatters.ca May Game of the Month is set for Saturday May 25th for the first “Border Bowl.”  High school football all-stars from the BC Interior will lock horns with an all-star team from Alberta.  The game will take place at the CNC at 6:00pm.

Photo courtesy of Greystoke Photography

The change will be noticed for the soccer program as they will be the next sport to play in Canada West beginning in September of 2014.  The option is also now there for UBCO to apply to add sports, which is what the Okanagan Sun have been waiting for the last couple of years.

Ryan talks with UBCO Director of Athletics and Recreation Rob Johnson about the announcement on Thursday…