On Friday, September 9th, the #CFC50 No. 10 ranked Terry Fox Ravens will be battling the #CFC50 No. 11 ranked Vancouver College Fighting Irish on the Ravens home turf in BC.
In the Ravens non-conference game, they showed some progression, even though they lost 42-21 to Lynden, WA.
āWe only had 8 practices before facing a tough Lynden team who is year in and year out, a playoff team in Washington,ā said Terry FoxĀ Head Coach, Martin McDonnell. āWe did okay considering they had over 20 practices. We are happy with our progress so far and picked tough exhibition games to test ourselves.ā
There are some issues that need to be addressed, including personnel issues. Fortunately, the Ravens are healthy and have no key injuries. It was a short week because of Labour Day, so they will have to make the most of their practice time.
They know what they need to do in order to stop the Fighting Irishās offence.
āPlay sound defence because they are very well coached and athletic,ā said McDonnell. āIf you make mistakes with alignment, they will take advantage. We must tackle well.ā
The Ravens will pay close attention to opposing players on offence and defence, though, as #CFC100 QB Jacob Samuels will be leading the Irish.
āWe have noticed several very good players on both sides of the ball that we will be concerned about,ā said McDonnell. āAt this point of the season, however (still exhibition), we are more concerned with getting our own kids lined up than doing too much in-depth scouting of the opposition. We will certainly get to know their team as the year progresses.ā
Ball security on offence and tackling on defence will be vital in order for the Ravens to secure a victory this week.
As for the Vancouver College Fighting Irish, they are satisfied with their output so far, despite losing 41-0 to Ferndale (WA) in a non-conference game last week.
āTo this point, the 2016 Fighting Irish have been an ultra coachable team,ā said Fighting Irish Head Coach, Todd Bernett. āWe have been blessed with team harmony, and every practice we seem to grind out improvement.ā
For the most part, their team is healthy, aside from some bumps and bruises.Ā To prepare for this week, they had to make some tough decisions.
āWe have been challenged by trying to figure out who is Terry Fox in 2016 as compared to 2015,ā said Bernett.
If they want to stop them offensively, they need to be gap sound and tackle better than they did last week.Ā They will be focused on #CFC100Ā RB Jeremie Kankolongo, as he is one of the most talented players on the Ravens team.
Playing on the road will be an obstacle for the Fighting Irish. When it comes to deciding factors in the game, improved tackling and protecting the ball on offence will be crucial.
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