One team is ramping it up, the other is winding down, and the result was a big win for the V.I. Raiders.
The Raiders beat the Westshore Rebels 54-14 on Saturday night in Victoria.
“Those types of games are big tests for us,” said Matthew (Snoop) Blokker, Raiders coach. “I was really proud with the effort of our guys and the focus of our guys.”
It was the fifth-straight win for Nanaimo (6-2), whereas Victoria (1-7) has lost three straight and is seeing low roster numbers.
The V.I. team raced to a 40-6 lead by halftime, made it 54-14 after three quarters and then neither team scored points in the fourth quarter.
“It took us a little bit to settle in defensively; I thought we were a little overanxious in the DB corps,” Blokker said.
The Raiders’ defensive front, though, he said “physically beat on” the Rebels, holding that team to 18 rush yards.
V.I. found success with both the run and the pass. Quarterback Jamie Ybarra set a new B.C. Football Conference record for completion percentage in a game, throwing 17-for-20 (85 per cent) for 341 yards and three touchdowns.
Whitman Tomusiak had six catches for 109 yards and had one receiving touchdown to go with one punt-return touchdown. Tomusiak’s 75-yard punt-return score came on a reverse from Dustin Rodriguez in the first quarter.
Dylan Schrot had 137 receiving yards and a touchdown and Arthur Fabbro had two TD catches.
Jahmari Bennett scored two rushing touchdowns on short-yardage downs. Andrew Deleon was V.I.’s primary ball carrier with nine carries for 83 yards.
Defensively, Dylan Chapdelaine and Quinton Bowles had sacks and Ariel Fabbro and Cole Samson had four tackles apiece.
Blokker said he’s excited that the Raiders have put themselves in a situation where they control their placing in the regular-season standings.
“We feel we’re in a good position,” he said. “We’re just really pumped right now.”
GAME ON … The Raiders take on the Langley Rams on Saturday (Sept. 28) at 4 p.m. at McLeod Athletic Park in the Fraser Valley … In other B.C. Football Conference action this past weekend, the Rams defeated the Chilliwack Huskers 54-7 in Langley and the Okanagan Sun shut out the Kamloops Broncos 30-0 in the desert.
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