Week 7 BCFC Preview
It is week 7 and the BCFC play-offs are in sight, at least for 4 of the clubs.
We have three very interesting games this weekend. Two that will go a long way to seeing what teams will host a play-off and which ones won’t. We also have a match-up between two winless clubs that have shown better than their records indicate, one will get a long overdue win.
Saturday, Sept 10 @ 4PM
VI Raiders (3-3) @ Langley Rams (4-2)
Lifetime head to head: Raiders lead series 19-6-1
Previous meeting 29-14 Rams in Nanaimo August 20th
This game perhaps means different things to the Rams and Raiders.
At 3-3 the Raiders likely are just thinking about winning one game at a time to develop a rhythm and confidence heading into the play-offs. Whether they finish 3rd of 4th they will be travelling when the second season arrives. That said, second place is a still mathematically possible.
For the Langley Rams, this game means everything in their bid to stay within striking distance of the Sun and Rebels for McLeod Athletic Park to host at least a semi-final.
The Raiders blew a 14-0 first quarter lead at home in the first game between these teams. The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde performance indicative of the way their games have been from week to week. In their last game before the break they overcame a 10-0 half-time deficit in Kamloops before dumping the Broncos 16-13. If they attempt to turn that trick against a stingy Rams defense they will be in for a long ferry trip home.
The Langley Rams defense largely shut down the first place Okanagan Sun before the bye weekend and on paper match up well with the Raiders.
The Raiders passing game is ranked dead last in yards and connecting at just over 50% completion. To make matters more challenging, their QB Jacob Laberge and company are taking on a Rams defense that is tops against the pass in terms of yardage allowed but curiously last in interceptions with just 3.
Players to watch
The Rams dynamic back last saw action August 13 against the Huskers. He only carried the ball once and has been nursing a case of turf toe ever since. If he is healthy and ready to go the Raiders prospects get a little trickier in this game.
As the Raiders veteran running back goes, so goes their odds on victory. Each time his team came away with a win he eclipsed 100 yards (114 July 23 vs Kamloops, 166 Aug 6 vs Chilliwack and 186 Aug 27 vis Kamloops). In the Raiders 3 losses he totalled 66, 64 and 14 yards respectively.
Saturday, September 10 @ 7PM
Kamloops Broncos (0-6) @ Valley Huskers (0-6)
Lifetime head to head: Broncos lead series 14-10-1
This will be billed as game of pride between the two remaining winless teams that are looking towards 2017.
More so it should be looked at a very interesting quarterback battle between two of the best young passers in the conference in Huskers sophomore Noah Falconer and Broncos rookie Colby Henkel.
Despite an 0-12 record between them they are 1-2 in passing yards and touchdowns, Falconer 1589 & 14, Henkel 1275 and 10.
With neither club offering any sort of running game, (Huskers 25 YPG, Broncos 60 YPG), Falconer and Henkel have put their respective offenses on their back. While Falconer is a pure passer with -4 yards rushing on the season to his credit, Henkel is more than willing to pull the ball down and make plays with his feet. His sits 8th in conference rushing with 183 yards.
To put it in perspective how much each club relies on their quarterback…Henkel has accounted for 83% of his team’s offence. In the case of Falconer, he is 92% of the Huskers total number as every completed pass the Huskers have this season has come from his arm.
Experts might have been picking the Huskers as favorites in this one. Between playing at home and playing not bad, at least offensively, at least when you consider the passing game… and they were a good bet to get their first win
Then this week it was announced that they had fired head coach Jason Quinter. Now, the firing of a 0-6 coach isn’t surprising in itself but when things seemed as good as could be expected performance wise it causes a different sense of concern. How a team performs after a coaches firing generally says something about how the locker room felt about the man in charge and the job he was doing. In a game like this, as winnable as it is between two evenly matched teams that will be the case even more.
Whether the Huskers come out flat or with a statement first win of the season might go a long way to indicating if the coaching change was the right move or not.
Players to watch
Huskers QB Noah Falconer
No quarterbacks made the coaches “top 9 player list” we released earlier this week. But we can tell you that Falconer came the closest.
His league leading passing stats are good. For the quarterback on an 0-6 team they are amazing.
If Falconer passes for 300+ yards Saturday, the Huskers win. If not, they are staring at 0-7 Sunday morning.
Angrove leads the conference in interceptions and the Broncos have been decent against the pass this year.
Saturday, September 10th at 7PM
Okanagan Sun (6-0) @ Westshore Rebels (5-1)
Lifetime head to head; Sun lead series 45-6-2
Previous meeting won by Sun 27-21 in Kelowna August 6th
Last Rebels win 27-24 (2012)
Last Rebels home win 34-21 (2009)
Despite the fact the Sun are coming in with an unblemished record it’s hard not make the Rebels the favorite. The teams are evenly matched with unique skill sets. When you consider the long road trip the Sun must make, the artificial turf which will benefit the Rebels potent run game and what is sure to be a loud Westhills Stadium Crowd and Las Vegas odds makers would no doubt be on the side of the home team.
If the Sun beat the Rebels again it’s hard to imagine them collapsing enough over the final three games of the season to lose first place, regardless of the ridiculously difficult stretch of games they would still have. They host the Saskatoon Hilltops, travel to Nanaimo and then wrap up at home against the Langley Rams. Win this game and the room for error they create for themselves over the last three games and they are a very safe bet for first place.
If the Rebels win this game to tie up the season series, the TD by Rebels quarterback Ashton McKinnon in the dying seconds of the 27-21 Sun win in Kelowna could prove to be massive. It’s not hard to imagine Westshore head coach JC Boice and his Okanagan counterpart Ben Macauley both thinking about the possible role those points may mean this weekend.
If the Rebels defeat the Sun and overcome the 6-point differential to put their play-off destiny in their own hands, that McKinnon touchdown could turn out to be a turning point in both club’s seasons.
As for how this game stands on its own merit…
Will something give in this battle of the Rebels league leading rushing attack (308 YPG) versus the Sun top ranked run defense (86 YPG)? Or will another facet of either team’s strengths be the difference maker?
While the passing game of the Sun or the Rebels may not strike fear into opponents (Sun 5th @ 207 YPG, Rebels 3rd 211 YPG) they can cause issues for different reasons.
The Rebels are a big play team through the air, highest in the league at 9.4 yards per attempt. and the Sun secondary has occasionally been susceptible to that. Although they also have the playmakers to turn the ball the other way with a league leading 15 interceptions. Conversely the Rebels have thrown a league low 3 interceptions.
In the case of the Sun they tend to be a ball control offense both through the air and on the ground which will be key to keeping Jamel Lyles and his league leading 1066 yards off the field.
Intangibles;
Players to watch
Rebels running back Trey Campbell
Yes, Jamel Lyles is THE player to watch and he had his fewest carries of the season (13/121 yards/1TD) in the first meeting.
But keying on Lyles as team are essentially forced to do gives this talented youngster even more room. The Sun coaching staff has nothing but respect for Campbell so it will be interesting to see how they handle these match-ups.
Sun defensive back Conor Richard
We called the Sun rookie as the player to watch in the Sun’s previous game against Langley and he proved us correct. A streaking Richard came out of nowhere to stuff the Langley quarterback a yard short of a first down on their last drive, ending the Rams comeback bid.
The Sun front seven will do what it does but Richard is likely the club’s best athlete on the defensive side of the ball and will need to have a big game if the Sun are to come out on top.
