The 2013 season got under way for the Vancouver Island Raiders, who defeated the Westshore Rebels in what was a sloppy contest.
It wasn’t pretty, but they got the ‘W’.
After losing their longtime quarterback and CJFL legend Jordan Yantz in the offseason, the Vancouver Island Raiders fielded a rather unfamiliar roster in their season opener on Saturday. Playing in Victoria against the Westshore Rebels, the black and red were able to squeeze out a 35-10 victory, despite some sloppy play on both sides of the ball. For the Raiders, struggling from week one was not something they had envisioned.
“At times, that was tough to watch,” said wide receiver and team captain Whitman Tomusiak, who sat out this contest with an injured ankle. “Looked like a preseason game out there.”
The plan was for the Raiders to come out and make a statement in their opener, after losing in disappointing fashion in last season’s Cullen Cup to the Langley Rams. At the time, the loss would stop a streak of six BCFC championships in a row for the Raiders, who won consecutive titles from 2006-2011. With a decisive victory in week one, the Raiders could have instilled fear in to their BCFC opponents, proving that they were still part of the conference supreme.
Instead, the Raiders were met with inconsistency and unfamiliarity on the field, resulting in a lack of chemistry on both offense and defense.
In a new era of Raider football, it was rookie quarterback Jahmari Bennett calling the plays as the new quarterback. Despite looking jittery early on, throwing three interceptions , he would later settle in to a groove and finish 8-of-19 passing for 96 yards and 1 touchdown throw.
“Probably a bit nervous, those are some big shoes for him to fill,” said Tomusiak of his new quarterback. “He’s fine, he’ll figure it out.”
Taylor Flavel scored the first points of the season for the Raiders, with a short 1-yard run early in the first quarter. After a touchdown and field goal for the Rebels in the second quarter, the Raiders knew they would have to come out in the second half and perform better.
And they did.
Ash Gayat recovered a fumble which turned into a 22-yard field goal from kicker Ryan Jones, and the Raiders took off from there.
Possibly the best play of the game came in the fourth quarter from backup quarterback Jaeden Marwick, who zigged-and-zagged his way through the entire Rebel defense for a 54-yard touchdown run. For the Raiders, it was an exclamation point on a relatively strong second half.
After a victory in week one, albeit a clumsy one, the Raiders feel like some of the gridiron rust has been knocked off. They now look to build off the win, and further refine their game in an attempt to show they are still the Raiders of old.
Up next for the Raiders is the Okanagan Sun, who are coming off an impressive victory in their own season opener, trumping the Chilliwack Huskers 65-10. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm on Saturday, August 3 in the Apple Bowl.
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