Members of the Ballenas Whalers junior football team board the bus outside of Pass Woodwinds School in Parksville on Dec. 1, for their provincial championship game on Dec. 2 against the Vernon Panthers. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW.com)

By Jordan Davidson

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Local football teams primed for provincial title games at BC Place

Dec 1, 2023 | 2:32 PM

PARKSVILLE — A pair of Vancouver Island teams are heading to the home of the B.C. Lions to try and bring home hardware at the BC Secondary School Football Championship.

John Barsby Secondary School’s senior AA team and the Ballenas Whalers AA junior football squad will be in Vancouver on Saturday, Dec. 2, with both clubs playing teams from Vernon.

Whalers head coach Mike Seselja said following a few difficult seasons for their program, they’ve formed a winning identity this season.

“This year we’ve kind of solidified, it’s a big step, this group of kids didn’t win a game last year and they still came back, still worked hard all winter.”

The Whalers junior team currently has 32 players, the largest active roster in a decade.

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Numerous coaching changes also shook things up for the team, with Seselja in his first year leading the junior program, while a number of other former Whaler players have stepped into coaching positions.

A few staff members also have university football under their belt, along with some stints in the CFL and NFL.

“Our coaching staff is just stacked and we come together well,” said Seselja said.

Seselja spoke with NanaimoNewsNOW the morning of Friday, Dec. 1 in Parksville as the team awaited for a bus prior to making the trip to Vancouver.

Gear in hand, the Parksville-based Ballenas Whalers junior football team packs up the bus for the long trip to the ferry before settling into their hotel in Vancouver for the evening. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW.com)

Money for equipment, transportation and hotels is all fundraised by the team, with the Whalers getting a surprising financial boost this year through book sales.

Former coach Joe Martino and his son Chris recently wrote two books about the Whalers program, It Takes a Posse and Down by Six, the latter book title a reference to the mentality the Whalers have when they are in the lead, according to Seselja.

“We don’t sit back and catch them, we play like we’re down by six and that makes us play intense to finish the game out.”

A father of three former Whalers, Seselja said they’re excited and ready for their provincial game, after mostly being on the losing end whenever they’ve faced the Vernon Panthers in previous playoff games.

“It’s a great group of guys, a lot of testosterone in the room. It’s kind of cool, we’re playing Vernon and Barsby is in the championship also, and Barsby is playing against Vernon also. Vernon has got two teams in the program so that tells you how well they’re system is.”

The John Barsby Secondary School’s AA varsity Bulldogs are in their provincial finals for the second year in a row, losing to Abbotsford’s Robert Bateman Secondary School in the 2022 championship game.

The Bulldogs were the second-highest-scoring team in the regular season with a record of 6-1, while their opponents Vernon went 6-0.

The Whalers play at 9 a.m., while the Barsby team kicks off at 4 p.m. at B.C. Place in downtown Vancouver.

More information on the Whalers can be found here on their team’s Facebook page.

Family, friends, and supporters were on hand to wish the Whalers good luck Friday morning. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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jordan@NanaimoNewsNOW.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow