Hot off a 56-3 victory over the Valley Huskers, the Vancouver Island Raiders will be looking to carry that momentum into a road game versus the Kamloops Broncos Saturday.
Even though the 2-2 Raiders will face the winless Broncos (0-3-1), head coach Matthew “Snoop” Blokker said he and his staff won’t deviate in its preparation.
“Our approach isn’t going to change,” Blokker said. “We’re going to do the same thing and approach the game the same way we do every game and we need to get better.
“We have to compete and our goal, no matter what, is to get the two points and we have no choice but to do that against Kamloops.”
Blokker said the Raiders haven’t decided on a true No. 1 quarterback yet, but he said Jamie Ybarra and Jaeden Marwick would both see duty behind centre on Saturday. Who starts the game will likely be decided this evening.
“We give (Ybarra and Marwick) even reps and opportunity to practice and compete.
“We’re in a situation where they’re both going to play in the game no matter what,” Blokker said.
“I think it means more to the media than it does to us as far as a starter. They’re both going to compete, they’re both going to get to play with our starting group and we’re going to develop both guys,” Blokker said.
“They’re both very young quarterbacks and they both need opportunity to develop.
“We’re not putting any pressure on them that way at all and we’re just going to keep working with both of them and let them both play.”
The coach said the Raiders would probably continue to employ the two-quarterback system for the remainder of the season.
The Raiders are in for a long day as they will head up to Kamloops, play the game at 7 p.m. and then head home right after. The team owns a 1-1 road record with a 35-10 win against the Westshore Rebels and a 17-3 loss to the Okanagan Sun.
Blokker aims for a better job from his players, coaching staff and himself in Kamloops than the team did on the road in a similar set up earlier this year against the Sun.
“It’s something we can learn from and we’re going to give a way better performance from top to bottom,” Blokker said. “We’re excited to get back on the road and have a good performance.”
GRID BITS … V.I. Raiders take to the field at 7 p.m. at Hillside Stadium to face the Kamloops Broncos.
After a bye week, the Raiders return Sept. 7 to Caledonia Park to face the Okanagan Sun.
For ticket information, please visit www.viraiders.ca.
