Former Ballenas Whalers Liam O’Brien and Dustin Rodriguez came up huge in a barn burner of a game for the Vancouver Island Raiders this past weekend, as the Raiders beat the Langley Rams 52–44.
O’Brien, the starting quarterback for the Raiders, had himself a day behind centre as he threw for 336 yards with three touchdowns. He continues to torch defences — he’s currently leading the league in passing with 900 yards on the campaign thus far.
Rodriguez was in on a beauty of a trick play, where he caught a lateral from a teammate and then scampered 59 yards for a touchdown. D-Rod also hauled in a huge 36-yard pass from O’Brien as well, but that wasn’t all. Rodriguez was part of the kick return team, which set a Canadian junior football record with 354 yards combined in the game.
It was a much-needed outburst and win for the Raiders after they dropped back-to-back games against the Okanagan Sun. The Raiders are back in action on Sept. 6 at Caledonia Park in Nanaimo, taking on the Fraser Valley Huskers.
