CJFL: Who will be next running champ?

There will be a changing of the guard in both the BCFC and PFC heading into the 2015 season on the ground as both Conference rushing title winners have graduated.

In Saskatoon Wayndel Lewis was simply awesome a season ago.  He carried 130 times for 1,063 yards and scored nine touchdowns helping the Hilltops to another PFC championship.  Unfortunately for Lewis, he had to watch the PFC title game and the Canadian Bowl from the sidelines due to an injury.  Lewis not only won the PFC and CJFL rushing crowns but also was named the CJFL’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player.

In the BCFC, the Okanagan Sun running attack was the most potent in the Conference led by 22 year old Alex Bradley.  The Edmonton native rushed to his first BCFC rushing title on 77 carries and 672 yards, scoring five majors.

Both Lewis and Bradley have now graduated from the CJFL making room for another back to carry the load in 2015.

In BC, Kamloops Broncos’ running back Jacob Palmarin (pictured) is poised to win his first rushing title.  In 2014 the Lethbridge Alberta tailback led the Conference with 91 carries, 14 more than Bradley and gathered 613 yards, scoring just one touchdown in a pass first offense.  Palmarin is a downhill runner with a big body, making him very difficult to bring down.  With the Broncos offensive line showing improvement last season, look for Palmarin to have a big year in 2015.

Two other running backs will push Palmarin all season long.  Dillon Fortune with the Sun was Bradley’s lethal partner in 2014.  With Bradley missing three games last season, Fortune filled his shoes and then some.  The Brooklyn New York native carried 73 times for 597 yards and scored six touchdowns.

The other running back that showed great skill especially in the post season was Langley Ram Nathan Lund.   He was the top offensive player during the BCFC Cullen Cup championship game scoring the winning touchdown with under a minute to play.  During the regular season Lund was banged up but did rush 51 times for 411 yards and scored five majors.

In the PFC, the running back field is wide open with the graduation of Lewis the Conference’s second leading rushing Cameron Fox of the Calgary Colts who collected 432 yards less than Lewis.

As a matter of fact after Lewis and Fox, the production from running backs wasn’t all that impressive.  The PFC’s third leading rusher was Jimmie Airey of the Edmonton Huskies who carried 83 times for 501 yards and a major.  Airey, like his Huskies team, started the season quickly but slowed as the year went on.  However the speedy tailback enters his third year and could make a push to the rushing title.

Airey’s city counterpart with the Wildcats is David Adebayo.  The rookie proved to be a handful to bring down at 5’9 and 205 pounds as he rushed 55 times for 341 yards and scored six touchdowns.   His teammate Anthony Myroon could give the Cats a very good 1-2 punch in 2015.  Last season Myroon, carried 76 times for 379 yards, scoring a pair of majors.

The Hilltops have always had an outstanding ground attack and the graduation of Lewis makes room for Logan Fischer who was the primary back in the playoffs with an injured Lewis.  Fischer finished the regular season with 28 carries, 210 yards and four touchdowns.  In the PFC title game he ran 28 times for 185 yards, then two weeks later in the Canadian Bowl he rushed a game high 19 times for 94 yards and scored a touchdown.

Will one of these backs in the BCFC and PFC claim a rushing title, or will another player make a name for himself and claim the crown? One thing is for sure, football season can’t come soon enough as the CJFL will kick off in July.