The V.I. Raiders score a touchdown during a game against the Valley Huskers earlier this season at Caledonia Park. The teams meet Saturday (Oct. 1) at Chilliwack.

The V.I. Raiders score a touchdown during a game against the Valley Huskers earlier this season at Caledonia Park. The teams meet Saturday (Oct. 1) at Chilliwack.

V.I. Raiders rising at right time

V.I. Raiders are turning their attention to what’s next: a road game against the Valley Huskers this Saturday (Oct. 1).

Last week’s game against the Okanagan Sun couldn’t impact the V.I. Raiders in the standings. It could have been meaningless – the Raiders made sure it was meaningful.

V.I., having now tied the first-place Westshore Rebels and beaten the defending-champion Sun in back-to-back weeks, is turning its attention to what’s next: a road game against the Valley Huskers this Saturday (Oct. 1), and beyond that, playoffs.

“Right now we’re at a stage where we’re building momentum,” said Mason Kelley, Raiders defensive lineman. “I think we’re going to stay hungry, as we’ve been already, and just keep working hard, as we are, and keep doing what we’re doing.”

Dexter Shea, Raiders linebacker, said he wasn’t surprised by the winning result against the Sun considering his team’s skill and work ethic.

“It gives us a boost of confidence putting the result on the scoreboard, but it’s something that we’ve known we can do…” he said. “Now that we have proven ourselves to those teams, we just have to continue to get better, like we have been.”

A game against the last-place Huskers can help the Raiders prepare for playoffs, players said, though they’ll focus on the task at hand.

“It’s next game up. We’ve got Valley; we’re not looking ahead to playoffs yet,” Shea said. “We’ve still got to win out this game to have a winning record and finish the season with what we want.”

sports@nanaimobulletin.com

Nanaimo News Bulletin