"More than advertised."
That's how the New Westminster Hyacks described their trip to Georgia over the Labour Day long weekend when they squared up against Mary Persons High School.
The orange and black may have the exhibition game 43-6 on Friday, Aug. 30, but they arguably won much more off the field: experience.
It was the fourth trip south of the border since 2011 for the Hyacks program, making stops in California in 2011 and 2017, as well as Texas in 2017.
In addition to football, the New West Secondary students visited the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, the College Football Hall of Fame and a game at Auburn University.
The local athletes also dined with Mary Persons players the night before the Pacific Coast/Peach State contest — a "special moment" for everyone, Hyacks Football said in a social media post.
"While the result was not what we wanted, we'll never forget the Friday Night Lights experience we had on Friday against Mary Persons Bulldogs," the statement added.
"Thank you again for the hospitality all week and best of luck the rest of the way."
The Hyacks may very likely use their memories from the trip as extra motivation for its own regular season, which begins Sept. 27 at home (see schedule below).
New Westminster's last trip to the B.C. provincial championship game was in 2018.
The Hyacks are ranked fifth in B.C. School Sports' pre-season top 10 AAA football rankings for the 2024 campaign.
New West is set to play three more exhibition matches ahead of the home opener, including two at Mercer Stadium (830 6th St.) — this Friday, Sept. 6, against G.W. Graham (Chilliwack) and Sept. 20 against Notre Dame (Vancouver).
Last year, the Hyacks finished with a record of 4-2 in AAA Central conference play before losing to Burnaby's St. Thomas More in the playoff wild card game.
The Hyacks' 2024 regular season schedule is as follows:
- Friday, Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m. vs. Handsworth (North Vancouver)
- Friday, Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m. vs. Centennial (Coquitlam)
- Friday, Oct. 11, 6:30 p.m. @ Terry Fox (Port Coquitlam)
- Friday, Oct. 18, 3:30 p.m. @ Lord Tweedsmuir (Surrey)
- Friday, Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m. vs. Seaquam (Delta)
- Friday, Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m. @ St. Thomas More (Burnaby)
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