British Columbia Football Conference (junior) preview 2010

The BCFC is gearing up for its 63rd season and has all the indications that it should be a very
balanced campaign.

2010 Season Preview by Ryan Watters

In 2009 the BCFC used home field advantage to help them win the national championship as the
Vancouver Island Raiders won their second consecutive Canadian Bowl and third in four years. This season the BCFC will host the Intergold game and all six teams are optimistic they will get the honour to host the national semi‐final.
The biggest change at the league level is the Vancouver Trojans have suspended their operation and have merged with the South Surrey Rams. The BCFC has given the Trojans “non‐playing status.”
BCFC President Frank Naso, who won the 1982 national championship with the Trojans, said “The Trojans have been a strong organization over the years, despite their record for the past few. The combination of the economic downturn and the loss of most of their Direct Access funding caused fiscal hardship to the Conference’s oldest franchise ‐ to the point that the junior program was no longer viable.”

VANCOUVER ISLAND RAIDERS – 10‐0 (2009 record)
The two‐time defending national champion Raiders lost the best player in junior football in
December, as Andrew Harris (PICTURE) signed a professional contract with the BC Lions.
However the Raiders still return a number of key players from their last two championship winning teams including quarterback Jordan Yantz. The Regina native was the “Offensive Player of the Game” during the 2009 Canadian Bowl and will once again have a number of lethal receivers to throw to. Despite the return of Yantz the Raiders should once again have one of the top defensives in the CJFL.
Head Coach Matt Blokker says they have a lot of veterans returning and a couple of key pick ups at the linebacker position. With the mix of veterans and the experience at the new recruits, it could be the defense that leads the Raiders back to the top of the standings.
The Raiders played an exhibition game on July 17 and picked up right where they left off in 2009, blowing out the Victoria Rebels 45‐24. The Raiders have not lost a game since August 16, 2008 when they fell 23‐19 to the Okanagan Sun, a game in which Harris suffered an injury.
The Raiders will begin defense of their two national titles this Saturday when they host the South Surrey Rams in a rematch of the BCFC’s Cullen Cup final last season.

SOUTH SURREY RAMS – 7‐3 (2009 record)
The South Surrey Rams are hoping to take the next step this season coming up one win short of
hosting the Canadian Bowl last year. The Rams finished with an impressive 7‐3 record last year and beat Victoria in the semi final 52‐46 to clinch a berth in the BCFC final. Head Coach Chris Butchler says the Rams will be rebuilding this season after losing 26 players, including starting quarterback Cam Clark who joined the University of Manitoba of the CIS. He says they will be relatively young at all positions this season despite roughly 85 players in spring camp.
Following the merge with the Trojans, the Rams picked up a few key guys but once again were able to recruit three players from the Toronto area and a couple of Winnipeg. Butchler says the Rams are more “local” then last season and will have about the same number of players on their roster. One of the biggest weapons for the Rams will once again be Nick Downey who was the BCFC Outstanding Special Teams Player of the Year. Downey recorded 1,158 return yards in 2009 and ran back three kicks for touchdowns including a 102 yard kick off return. His average kick off return was 29.3 yards, while he averaged 18.9 yards a punt return. Butchler says Downey is even faster this season.
The Rams will begin the season with four straight road games including this Saturday in
Nanaimo and a date with the Raiders.

VICTORIA REBELS – 6‐4 (2009 record)
The Victoria Rebels were much improved in 2009 after clinching a playoff spot early in the season. The biggest change in the BC Capital is at the helm as John Cardilicchia returns to his head coaching role. Cardilicchia was at the helm of the Rebels from 1998‐2002. He would lead his team to a 33‐15‐3 record and was named a recipient of a BC Lions Orange Helmet Award in 2007. The Rebels have lost a number of key players in their offensive attack from last season, including the BCFC Rookie of the Year, quarterback Yannick Rickli. Stepping under the centre this season will be Nick Cobb from the University of Manitoba who red‐shirted with the Bisons in 2009. Cardilicchia saying the 18‐year old is a mature and talented young QB. One of the strengths of the Rebels will be the offensive line which features two twin tower rugby players; one 6’6‐310 and the other 6’4‐290.
The defense of the Rebels, one of the best last season, will return four or five starters. Cardilicchia, the defensive coach for the Rebels last season, says there are a number of new faces on both sides of the ball, but they all have one common goal and that’s to improve on their 6-4 record from last season.
The Rebels will start on the road in Chilliwack on Saturday.

OKANAGAN SUN – 6-4 (2009 record)
The Okanagan Sun were left out of the BCFC Cullen Cup final last year for the first time in over 20 years. Despite missing the championship game, the Sun were the only team to give the Raiders much competition in 2009. The Sun came very close to knocking off the defending champs in their own park in the semi final, losing 25-16.
This season head coach Pete McCall enters his second at the helm and says he’s a lot more
comfortable in his role this year. The biggest change for the Sun will be at quarterback; Derek Mann who led the BCFC is most passing categories last year has graduated which has opened the door for three players. The Sun have given the nod to local product Bobby Davis who will give the offense a new dimension as he is very effective running the ball, and the coaching staff says he could be the team’s leading rusher.
Despite the loss of Mann, the Sun still return a number of key players including All‐Canadian
receivers Matt Scheurwater and Dan Turek. The Sun have recruited heavily at the offensive and
defensive line positions, a weak point for the team last year, and feel they are bigger and stronger in 2010.
The Sun have a positive vibe and believe their defense will be one of their strong points again this season. Steven Doege in his season year is bigger and stronger and has the potential to be the top defensive lineman in the country this year after nine sacks in 2009.
The Sun will travel to Kamloops for week one this Saturday.

CHILLIWACK HUSKERS – 3-7 (2009 record)
In Chilliwack, the Huskers have a new head coach and renewed optimism this season. Luke Acheson takes over a team that finished 3-7 last year and had just over 20 players on their roster. The Huskers cleaned house and have for the most part started from scratch. The optimism extends from their strong numbers at spring camp. Over 45 new faces will wear the green and black this season as they look to get back to the post season and the upper echelons of the BCFC.
Despite the new faces Coach Acheson believes the strength of this team is their chemistry. The
Huskers “new faces” have come from across the nation as Acheson has done heavy recruiting. The offense will be led by quarterback Clayton Kroeker who finished 57 of 118 in 2009 for 885 yards and six touchdowns. He’ll need to have an improved year if the Huskers want to win more than their three games from last season.
The Huskers will open at home this season and Coach Acheson wouldn’t have it any other way. They will face the Rebels in week one at Exhibition Stadium.

KAMLOOPS BRONCOS – 2-8 (2009 record)
The Kamloops Broncos are coming off a difficult year in which they won just twice. Head Coach Rob Ellis and his staff worked extremely hard in the off season to improve their product on the field and it showed with over 90 players attending their spring camp. After the cuts, the Broncos have 65 players on their roster, 20 more than last year. Ellis says they made headway within Saskatchewan and Alberta this off season, two places they haven’t had much success with in the past. Currently the strength of the Broncos is the defense as they return a majority of players. The offense should be much improved as well, a point that was a priority for this football team after recording just 168 points last year. They have recruited two outstanding receivers and have two new quarterbacks on their roster from outside of BC.
Ellis says this team is much further ahead from where they were last season at this time, now they have to transfer their skill into the first regular season game that begins on Saturday at home when they host the Okanagan Sun.
The 10-game BCFC schedule begins this Saturday as the league is trying something a little different this season. Twice during the season, teams will play an opponent in back to back weeks, something that hasn’t happened in recent memory. The back to back weeks are three and four, and nine and ten.
Enjoy the return of the BCFC!