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Big Name Alumni
Barry James Sanders carries on family football tradition
 Football University Alumni Barry James Sanders, son of NFL Legend Barry Sanders, has made his way to San Antonio, Texas to begin preparation for the US Army All-American Bowl. The game is taking place in the Alamodome on Saturday, January 7, 2012 and is broadcast at Noon EST on NBC.
Barry James Sanders looks to take his skills to the field and showcase his talent in the biggest high school football all-star event of the year. Arriving on New Year’s Day, Sanders will experience all the events and exposure that “Bowl Week” offers, including the lead-up to the game which is nearly as memorable as the game itself.
The electrifying running back has been a two-time Football University Top Gun selection, attending his last Top Gun in Williamsburg, VA in the summer of 2010. Sanders on-field success along with being part of the Football University family, has led to his selection in the US Army All American Bowl.
All his talent and training has made him one of the top running back recruits in the country and he will showcase those talents when he and his U.S. Army All American teammates perform this Saturday on the greatest stage in high school football.
2011 Comes To An End
Provincial Finals Produce Exciting Games
 Midget Division
The Midget game featured the two top seeded teams in the league with the White Rock Titans having a banner year going undefeated all the way through while
the Coquitlam Falcons finished second over all with an 8-1-1 record having only lost their first game of the year, that at the hands of the Titans.
Like many playoff finals both teams came out conservative leading to a competitive defensive battle until the Titans struck first in the second quarter. This lead to
an explosion of offense by White Rock and before the half ended the Titans were up 22-0.
Coquitlam got things rolling early in the second half scoring their first major of the night but they were unable to control the pass happy Titan offense
as White Rock added fourteen more points in the second half finishing off the Falcons with a 36-13 win and capturing the 2011 Provincial Championship.
Bantam 12-man Division
For the North Surrey Tigers one has to go back to October 25th in 2009 to find the last time the Tigers lost a regular season game. After going undefeated in 2010 North Surrey
lost to Langley in the VMFL finals with a score of 39-7. This year the Tigers continued their domination of the Bantam division by going undefeated again, this time
landing themselves in BC Provincial final against the sixth seed Victoria Spartan's, a team that finished the year with a 5-5 record. This game was a defensive show down from
kickoff as neither team was able to move into the opponent red zone, playing most of the day in a battle of field position. The Tigers got on the board first with a rouge off
a missed field goal and followed that up with another later on to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead at the half.
With 9:00 minutes left in the game the Tigers finally broke one free off a long run to score what would be the only North Surrey major on the day giving them
a 9-0 lead. With the game clock winding down in the final minutes Victoria got one more kick at the cat and in the dying minutes managed to score their first touch down of the
game leaving 34 seconds on the clock and after the successful convert trailing only 9-7. The onside kick attempt was successful with the Spartan's recovering the ball and
with a quick pass play completion Victoria was sitting on around the Tiger 30 yard line. With the play clock running and no time out called it looked like Victoria was going
to run out of time when with one second left on the game clock the Spartan's were called for too much time, freezing the clock. Quickly the Spartan's got ready and with the snap of
the ball the kick was up and good giving the Spartan's a miracle ending win with a final score of 10-9. For a second year in a row the Spartan's, this time the Bantam team, pull
off a Cinderella season and take home the Championship trophy.
 Junior Bantam Division
For what might be possibly the first time ever, only historians could tell you, the VMFL didn't have a team playing in the BC Provincial finals this past weekend
as the South Delta Rams fell victim the previous week in the Semi-Finals against an impressive Kelowna-Mission Lions. This set up a Kelowna versus Meadow Ridge Knights
final here in Langley. The Lions, well know for their passing game, didn't take long to show case their talent as the big plays turned into major scores leaving
the Knights with their hands full. Meadow Ridge finally got a score of their own late in the game but the Provincial Championship went to Kelowna after a 44-6 final score.
Peewee Division
In the Peewee Division the North Delta Longhorns road a successful run of wins until losing their only game of the year in week seven at the hands of the
Cloverdale Bobcats. After that loss the Longhorns never looked back, dominating all the teams in their following regular and post season games and up to the big Provincial Final.
The Abbotsford Falcons, a team with a history of Provincial appearances including their 2009 championship season were not going to let anything worry them entering this final game.
Both teams came out strong, each with a running back that put down some major yards in each drive however by the fourth quarter the Longhorns were getting the better
of the field position leading them to a strong victory over the Falcons and Provincial Champions for the 2011 season
VMFL Final Standings
VMFL Playoffs
BC Provincial Scores
Grey Cup Parade
The 2011 Grey Cup parade was a smashing success for both the Grey Cup Committee as well as the Vancouver Mainland Football League as our float and .
its participants were the cheered on the loudest by the parade crowd as reported in the
Vancouver Sun newspaper.
Close to 300 players and cheerleaders marched through the streets of Vancouver on Saturday making noise and interacting with the
spectators. Fun was had by all with a great representation by the VMFL associations throughout the league. Photos and some coverage links below:
Vancouver Sun Article
Live Video Courtesy Vancouver Sun : 22min mark
Youtube
Province Newspaper
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