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Explosive plays yield win for Rebels

By Mario Annicchiarico / Times Colonist, 09/24/16, 10:45PM PDT

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The uplifting 2016 B.C. Football Conference season continues for the Westshore Rebels.

A 38-29 win Saturday afternoon against the host Langley Rams clinched first place overall in the regular season for the Rebels, the first Victoria-based team to do so, as the club improved to 7-1-1 with just one game to go.

Jamel Lyles ran for four touchdowns, including three in the first half as he totalled 184 yards along the ground on 16 carries.

Lyles helped build a 21-19 advantage at the half while Stephen Legare replied with a one-yard score and Tiernan Docherty had four field goals for the hosts.

Rebels quarterback Ashton Mackinnon then hooked up on a stunning 109-yard touchdown off a play-action pass with Nathaniel Pinto late in the third quarter to make it 31-19. Jay Jay Jackson scored with under two minutes to go in the game for Langley to cut the lead to 31-29, but the Rebels added another major.

“What a great testament to how resilient these kids are,” said Rebels head coach J.C. Boice. “The defence, under coach [Shane] Beatty was awesome. I think they forced four or five turnovers and our offence was in good rhythm. They had a lot of explosive plays.

“The offensive line was unreal blocking for Jamel and Trey [Campbell], and Ashton had his best game of the year — very efficient with no turnovers. It was fun.”

The win, combined with the Vancouver Island Raiders’ 21-13 win over the Okanagan Sun gives the Rebels first place. The Rams and Sun are now 6-3 and the Raiders are 4-4-1 with one week to go.

Lyles now has 1,446 yards rushing, the fourth highest single-season total in BCFC history, just 30 yards behind Andrew Harris’s mark in 2009 with the Raiders and 50 behind former Rebel back Greg Morris, who totalled 1,496 in 2012.

“It feels really good to be a Rebel right now,” said Boice.