The stakes have never been so high in the Island rivalry.
Nanaimo’s V.I. Raiders are getting ready to take on Victoria’s Westshore Rebels this Saturday (Oct. 21) in the B.C. Football Conference championship game.
“It’s going to be an intense game, obviously, with the Island rivalry,” said Doug Hocking, Raiders coach. “And Westshore’s a very good football team.”
The Rebels are the No. 1 seed, while the Raiders upset the Okanagan Sun in the semifinals.
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“We’re real excited about the opportunity to go there and to play for a Cullen Cup,” Hocking said. “We believe and we know that we should be there and we feel we can beat any team in the league on any given day.”
Linebacker Tyler Hill, who is from Nanaimo, said “being from the Island you can’t really dream up a better scenario” for a championship game.
“We’re going to play the same game we’ve played all year,” he said. “Just try and keep an even keel, try and keep our heads, trust the man next to us.”
The Raiders lost twice to the Rebels during the regular season. To turn that around, Hill said his team needs to execute the game plan and minimize mistakes over four quarters.
Victoria boasts all-stars at running back, Trey Campbell, and at quarterback with Scott Borden.
“We’re definitely going to have to scheme to take those players away,” Hocking said. “It becomes a situation of maybe you don’t stop them, but you have to limit their gains and limit their big plays.”
Stopping the run will be a key to the game, Hocking said, and Hill said to do that the Raiders will need to play within their system and be sound with their tackling.
“It’s really just making tackles and getting 11 hats on the ball so he can’t squeak out of there,” Hill said.
The Rebels are the BCFC’s defending champions and led the conference in most yards for and fewest yards against this season.
“I think there’s a lot of areas that we can find an edge and there’s some things we can take advantage of,” Hocking said.
GAME ON … The Raiders and Rebels kick off Saturday at 7 p.m. at Westhills Stadium in Victoria. For ticket information, click here.
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