In the first semi the Raiders scored 31 unanswered points in the second half to beat the Okanagan Sun 34-8.
The BCFC Offensive Player of the Year, Raiders quarterback Jordan Yantz would finish 14 of 22 for 313 yards and threw two touchdowns. He would also run for two majors, gaining 15 yards on seven carries.
Yantz would find six different receivers as Whitman Tomuziak made a game high six catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. Dustin Pederson had four receptions for a game high 97 yards, while the only catch Dustin Rodriguez would make resulted in a 57 yard touchdown.
Defensively the Raiders pitched a second half shutout and would force five turnovers. Glenn Boyce made two interceptions and had a fumble recovery to go along with two tackles. Tremain Apperley had an interception and a sack, while Kurtis Bardua had a pick. Dylan Chapdelaine had a terrific day with eight solo tackles, two special teams tackle and an assist. Ash Gayat had four tackles and a sack while Quinton Clarke also had a sack.
The Raiders will host the Langley Rams in their seventh straight appearance in the Cullen Cup Final on Saturday.
The disappointing season for the Okanagan Sun comes to an end for the second straight year in the semi-finals.
Sun Rookie of the Year, quarterback Cam Bedore finished 15 of 28 for 214 yards, but threw four interceptions. He would find six different receivers as Kyle Patchell and Ben White each caught four balls. White was good for 54 yards, while Patchell had 53. Tommy Howes made three receptions for 56 yards.
On the ground Alex Bradley had another big game against the Raiders. He would carry 18 times for 150 yards including a 53 yard touchdown dash on the club’s opening possession.
The Sun “D” was busy on Saturday afternoon as Robbie Yochim would make a team high eight tackles. Steven Doege made four tackles, had four assists and recorded a sack and a half. Zac Ironstand countered with two sacks and two solo tackles. Sean Mason shared the sack with Doege and picked off a pass for the only Sun takeaway.
After the loss the Sun enter the offseason searching for their 15th head coach in franchise history.
“Image Courtesy of Erich Eichhorn – Allsportmedia.ca / Island Sports New
In the second semi-final the Langley Rams completed dominated the Westshore Rebels recording the 33-0 shutout victory.
The Rams offence had a balanced attack with 101 yards on the ground and exactly 200 through the air.
Quarterback Greg Bowcott finished 10 of 23 for 200 yards and threw just one touchdown. Michael Patko had a huge game making three receptions for 101 yards and made the only touchdown catch. BCFC Rookie of the Year Malcolm Williams had four catches for 87 yards.
On the ground the Rams were led by Daniel Xavier who had nine rushes for a game high 62 yards and a major. Kyle Albertini had eight carries for 17 yards.
To no surprise the Rams Special Teams factored in the game as well, as BCFC Outstanding Special Teams Player of the Year, Nick Downey was electric. The veteran returned a missed field goal 120 yards for a touchdown.
The Rams defence was simply terrific hold the BCFC rushing leader Greg Morris to just 28 yards on 14 carries. The “D” forced three turnovers as Tanner Hamade made an interception, while Joe Patko and Daniel Sharpe jumped on fumbles. Patko also led the club with six solo tackles. Sharpe, Brandon Klein and Curtis Schindel each had a sack.
The Rams will now travel to Nanaimo for the second consecutive season to face the Raiders in the Cullen Cup championship game. Their only other visit to Caledonia Park this season resulted in a 31-31 tie in Week 2.
The Westshore Rebels season comes to a close after an outstanding 7-3 regular season.
The offense was frustrated all afternoon compiling just 110 yards of net offense. With the run game struggling the Rebels would use two quarterbacks; Mark Black finished four of 12 for 47 yards while Cat Todorovich finished three of 13 for 28 yards.
Eric Eggleston made team high four catches for 47 yards, while Vinnie Cannata, Hunter Lake and Morris each made one catch.
The Rebels defense did force two turnovers as Nicholas Swaby and Colton Farago each picked up fumbles. Farago also led the club with six tackles, while Sam Narkaj and Brandon Dugaro each had four tackles.
The Rebels head into the offseason with some tremendous building blocks in place for 2013.
Photo courtesy of Troy Landreville – Langley Advance
Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.
