Holy Cross leads football division in which rival Surrey school team folded pre-season

Published 3:00 pm Monday, October 19, 2026

High school football season is in full swing for three Surrey-based teams including Holy Cross Crusaders, 28-14 winners over Mission in warm afternoon sunshine Friday (Oct. 16) at the Catholic school in Fleetwood.

The senior Crusaders are now first in a shrinking AA/AAA Hybrid division that includes Surrey’s Sullivan Heights Stars, Mission and Abbotsford, but not South Surrey’s Earl Marriott Mariners, folded before the season began. The other Surrey varsity football team this fall is Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers, AAA Central contenders.

“Earl Marriott and a few other teams folded this year, actually, for different reasons,” noted Conrad Deugau, Holy Cross head coach. “In Hybrid West, one senior team folded because they didn’t have enough players. There’s some stability now, thankfully, because earlier in the year teams were forfeiting, teams were folding, week to week. Some teams are hurting for numbers (of players).”

Deugau wasn’t at Robert DeJulius Field on Friday, due to illness, but liked what he watched on tape “for the most part.”

For depth, Holy Cross dressed several junior varsity players as the Crusaders look to make a playoff run this fall and play at BC Place Stadium for the first time since 2019.

“We’re senior-heavy this season,” Deugau noted. “Last year was more of a rebuild because we had all but one of our O- linemen as Grade 11s. This year all my linemen are Grade 12 (and) we’re trying to capitalize on that, go as far as we can with this group.… The goal is always to get to BC Place. I’m old school, take it one week at a time.”

Now 2-1, Holy Cross fell 14-10 to Ballenas to start the regular season, then beat Abbotsford 11-8.

Next up is a game with Sullivan Heights (1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24 at Holy Cross), followed by a rematch in Mission on
Friday, Oct. 30.

“It’s a very CFL-like schedule where (teams) will play each other a couple times or more,” Deugau said of divisional games.

Friday vs. Mission was a “friendly rivalry” battle for the Holy Cross coach.

“Mission’s coaching staff has two coaches I’ve known for a long time,” he said in BC School Sports Football’s latest newsletter. “Ken McLean and I were teammates at Simon Fraser University, while Mike Schneider coached our offensive line during our playing days at SFU. It’s always enjoyable competing against guys I’ve known and respected for so many years.”