BC: Must See Football this weekend in minor, high school & junior (Oct 14)

VMFL

The Island is the hot spot this coming weekend as two undefeated Bantam division teams square off in Cowichan as the Bulldogs (5-0) host the South Delta Rams (5-0). Kickoff goes at 1 pm on Sunday, October 16 at McAdam Park in Duncan.

Some will challenge the Bulldogs’ record saying they have only defeated one team above .500 – that being the up-and-coming North Surrey Panthers – but it’s hard to argue with their success especially since in their last three games they’ve out-scored their opponents by a combined 125-0. The same argument might be made of the Rams who have also beaten just one team above .500 – that being the Chilliwack Giants this past weekend with a 21-13 victory. Either way, the winner this Sunday will have the bragging rights for top spot in 12-man Bantam.

Another big game of the week from the VMFL involves a Junior Bantam clash between the South Delta Rams (5-1), who are currently sitting tied for third place in the standings, hosting the surprising undefeated Royal City Hyacks (6-0). Kickoff is 1:30 pm on Sunday, October 16 at Dennison Park in Tsawwassen.

The Rams’ only loss this year was to the 6-0 Langley Wranglers in Week 4 but their body of work this season has also included wins over the North Surrey Eagles and Coquitlam Vikings, two solid 4-2 teams. For the Hyacks, this game will be a defining moment in their season should they walk away winners as it would give them credibility for being a true top contender.

VCFL

Rotary Stadium in Abbotsford is the venue for the spotlighted game of the week this Saturday, October 15 with a Junior Bantam clash featuring the Chilliwack Blue Giants (5-1) facing the Abbotsford Falcons (4-2) with kickoff set at 3:15 pm.

Both the Blue Giants and the Falcons come into the contest riding win streaks with Chilliwack having won their last four in a row and Abbotsford having won two straight. This is the first of two meetings between these two clubs. They will face each other again in the regular season finale on November 5.

In addition to the Junior Bantam tilt, Rotary Stadium will host four other games this Saturday starting at 10 am with the final game of the day kicking off at 5:15 pm.

SIFC

Grahame Park in Vernon will host three undefeated teams this Sunday, October 16 but only two at most will emerging from this weekend still with their respective perfect records intact.

At 10 am, it’s an Atom division clash between the visiting Kelowna Lions (5-0) and the host Vernon Blue Bombers (5-0). The Lions are the top offensive team in the division racking up a whopping 190 points but the Blue Bombers are the defensive specialists surrendering only six points to date.

At noon, the Vernon Magnums Midget team (5-0) will look to continue their perfect campaign when they play host to the Penticton Cougars (2-3). The Cougars are the second-highest scoring team in the league with 109 points but will be up against a tough Magnums defence that has yielded only 33 points in five games.

High School

This week’s featured game in the BCSSFA comes from the AA Varsity division when the Abbotsford-Collegiate Panthers (1-0) travel out to McLeod Athletic Park in Langley to go head-to-head with the Langley Saints (0-1). Kickoff is at 7:30 pm on Friday, October 14. If you can’t make it out to the game in person, you can watch it live online at sportscanada.tv.

The Panthers opened their regular season with a convincing 42-20 win over the Rick Hansen Hurricanes last Friday. The Saints, on the other hand, were pummeled in their regular season opener by the Holy Cross Crusaders in a 35-0 loss.

For all the match-ups in BC High School Football, visit their brand new website at [url]www.bchighschoolfootball.com.

BCFC

After 11 weeks of jockeying for position in the standings, it is win-or-go-home time in the BCFC this weekend as the league opens their playoffs with a pair of semi-final games to determine which two teams gets to duke it out the following weekend for the coveted Cullen Cup.

The playoffs get underway this Saturday at Caledonia Park in Nanaimo when the Westshore Rebels (5-5) have the unenviable task of trying to pull off the miracle upset over the Vancouver Island Raiders (10-0). Kickoff is 1 pm PT.

The Rebels had an opportunity in the final week of the regular season to avoid an opening-round meeting with the Raiders but dropped 42-14 decision to the Langley Rams to finish with the same record as the Rams in the standings but seeded fourth after losing out in a tie-breaker. The Raiders concluded their regular season with a bang pounding the second-place Okanagan Sun by a 35-3 score. The Raiders won both regular season meetings against the Rebels by a combined score of 124-14.

On Sunday, the Okanagan Sun (8-2) will look to earn a shot at a re-match against the Raiders when they host the Langley Rams (5-5) at the Apple Bowl. Kickoff is 2 pm PT.

The Sun swept the regular season series against the Rams winning both meetings but they were hardly runaway games. The Sun earned a 33-23 victory on home turf over the Rams back in Week 2 and then just managed to squeak out a 15-14 win on the road in Week 3.