The British Columbia Football Conference (BCFC) has handed down suspensions to three Westshore Rebels players after a brawl broke out at a game versus the Vancouver Island Raiders recently.
The two teams have a long-standing spirited rivalry, and that was no different when they met at Westhills Stadium on Aug. 25.
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The incident occurred with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, when Rebels’ wide receiver Kaine Stevenson responded to a hit and pushed a Raiders player.
Players from both teams spilled onto the field, but BCFC president Tyler Mclaren said many of the coaches and players were trying to hold players back to eliminate the fighting.
“Both teams did a good job for the most part of keeping players on the bench,” he said. “It did look worse than it was when you see 100 players get onto the field. The majority of the people had good intentions, it was the actions of a few that were quite noticeable.”
Rebels’ linebacker Cordell Holder was ejected during the game and has been suspended for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs.
Mclaren said that after looking at the film, Holder left the bench. The league doesn’t condone, accept or allow his actions at that time, he noted.
“Leaving the bench is something we can’t allow, there was an attempt to ignite more behaviour,” Mclaren said.
Rebels’ offensive lineman Kolton Henderson and wide receiver Cody Holmes have both been suspended for one game, and will sit out for the Rebels game this weekend.
Stevenson and Rebels’ offensive lineman Aaron Rose were ejected for the remainder of the game but were not suspended. The two have been put on notice that if they are involved in a fight again, there will be harsher consequences.
The league wanted to set the tone for the second and final meeting between the two teams, which takes place on Saturday, Sept. 8 at 2:30 p.m. at Caledonia Park.
“The rivalry the teams have is great, but it needs to be contained and maintained within the rules of the sport, and when it doesn’t we have to act accordingly,” Mclaren said.
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