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Henkel poised for all star season

By Blake Roberts, 07/17/17, 10:30AM PDT

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All the BCFC teams are in camp with opening night less than two weeks away. July 29th can’t come soon enough. Here are my musings for this second to last Monday before kick-off.

5 of the 6 clubs have either their starting quarterback from last season returning or at least one who was sharing a good portion of the reps. The lone exception being the Westshore Rebels where it appears last season’s conference all- star Ashton Mackinnon isn’t back. What makes the situation interesting there is that it sounds like the club is still working on getting him back. Plus, the guy who was sharing the duties early in the season before leaving the club is back and it sounds like the club expects him to the starter this year. But what if Mackinnon puts the cleats back on?

Obviously, there isn’t a position on the field more important than quarterback, but the nice thing about our game is it is the ultimate team sport. It’s not required to have the best quarterback to finish on top, but it sure helps. I thought I’d take a look at the returnees for each club (at least the ones who were starters or took what amounted to starters reps) and consider each player’s prospects for earning the conference all-star nod at season’s end.

Like I said, this doesn’t guarantee a championship…but it doesn’t hurt either. The 6 passers below are listed in the order of the number of passes they threw in 2016;

 

  • Noah Falconer-Huskers

Second year Husker Noah Falconer led the BCFC in passing yards (2398) and touchdowns (19). But his 47.9% completion rate and winless Husker record were among the factors that precluded him from getting the nod as the all-star passer this year.

The Huskers are in a rebuilding phase as new head coach Bob Reist works to right the ship in Chilliwack after back to back winless seasons. Reist felt getting Falconer back this season was key to his club’s growth in 2017. Expect Falconer to have another strong season and emerge as the club’s top offensive performer, but it will likely take a few wins to see him named the league’s best at his position. The question is, do the Huskers have a few wins in them in 2017?

 

  • Colby Henkel-Broncos

Henkel was the BCFC and CJFL rookie of the year 2016 as he had an outstanding first season in the conference. He was 2nd in passing yards and touchdowns with 2188 and 18 respectively. He had a sparkling 56.3% completion and he threw just 10 interceptions as well. All these numbers are as good as you can expect from a rookie. How close was he to being named the conference top passer last season? We will never know, but a 2-8 Broncos record likely didn’t help.

The Broncos are extremely high on the prospects for their young pivot from Alberta and feel he has the size and skill to dominate the BCFC and be the best passer not only in the conference but the CJFL as well. They are confident he has the receivers around him to be successful again this season, the question is will the protection be there? The Broncos offensive line surrendered 36 sacks in 2016 and will be looking to cut that figure substantially this year. If they manage that, look for a banner year from Mr. Henkel.

 

 

  • Jacob Laberge-Raiders

A rookie with the club last season, Laberge finished 3rd in the conference with 1961 yards. His TD to interception ratio was 11/9 and he had a solid 55.4% completion rate. To add to his arsenal, he was a threat to run with the ball as well as his 306 rushing yards was good for 7th spot overall. He continued to impress in the play-offs in a hard fought loss to the Rebels in a semi-final. His play-off performance was arguably caffeine aided but that’s another story. Laberge likely garnered serious all-star consideration as well as rookie honors for a talented Raiders club last year.

Things are very interesting in Nanaimo this season though, with the return of Jamie Ybarra for his final season of junior eligibility. Ybarra was the conference rookie of the year back in 2013 and one can assume he doesn’t intend to carry the clipboard this year. This isn’t the pro ranks where an old veteran is back to mentor a youngster. Ybarra can barely grow a beard, never mind have a grey one.

Time will tell who takes the opening snap against the Langley Rams and if Laberge and Ybarra will share the duties or if one of the two grabs the reigns. If Laberge does manage to be “the man” over a returning 22 year old player, then the strides he took in the off-season will have been substantial.

Do the Raiders have the best quarterback in the conference? That’s open for debate. But they do have the best 1-2 punch.

 

  • Keith Zyla-Sun

The Okanagan Sun didn’t have a bona-fide starter last season as Zyla shared reps with Foster Martens. Sun head coach Ben Macauley said prior to the 2016 season that both Zyla and Martens would share the quarterbacking job, but you have to think a coach is hoping a player will seize the reigns in such a situation. Neither player did as the Sun never really got on track at quarterback in 2016. Both Zyla and Martens seemed to follow up a solid performance that appeared to park themselves in the starters seat with one that opened the door for his team mate.

Martens isn’t returning to the Sun this year, so Zyla, who finished 10th in the conference with 665 yards and managed just a 47.4% completion rate (6TDS, 3 INT) is the anointed leader of the offense this season. As of now there is no other quarterback with anywhere near his experience on the Sun roster so it’s his job to lose. While he didn’t get the start in the BCFC championship game last year, he came off the bench and rallied his club with a strong second half.

Based on his 2016 performance it would be hard to argue he will be the conference’s best passer this season. But with a perennially strong Sun offense around him and the knowledge the keys to the car are his, he could be a dark horse for conference all-star.

The Sun have always been high on Keith Zyla's athletic ability. How does he perform when the team is his own? 

 

  • Colby Peters Rams

Peters had a 2016 season similar to Zyla, in that he was seemingly always battling for the job as the leader of the Rams offense but never quite got there. He had zero reps the first two weeks, shared the job with Stephan Legare the next two wins, then went the distance in a crucial week 5 Rams win over the Raiders. Week 6 saw both he and Legare struggle in a loss to the Sun before university transfer Tommy Robertson arrived. Robertson took over as starter weeks 7 through 9 and the Rams seemed set for the season with him at the role. A regular season finale against the Sun saw Robertson have a mediocre first half before Peters came back in, going a near perfect 10/11 for 203 yards and a touchdown. Both Peters and Robertson saw action in the semi-final overtime loss to the Sun a week later.

Overall, Peters didn’t see a tonne of action for the Rams in 2016. His 691 yards was good for 10th overall but his numbers were solid as he completed 40 of 74 passes (54.1%) and 8 touchdowns to 4 interceptions.

Does he fight for playing time again? Has he earned the job as head Ram, or has the club brought someone else in? If he takes over this season, the Rams are in good shape the next 3 years at the position.

 

  • Scott Borden-Rebels

Borden is the most intriguing of all the players on this list. I don’t know why he left the Rebels club after 6 games last season and I didn’t ask. Speculation and rumour varies from being homesick to not wanting to share the quarterback duties.

Rumours are rumours, but what is a fact is that when Borden wasn’t sharing the snaps behind centre, his performances were rock solid if not spectacular. In weeks 1,3,5,6 Borden was in a back-up role and served up back-up like numbers as he went 13 of 32 (40%) for 130 yards and an interception. Conversely, in weeks 2 and 4 where he went all the way in wins over the Raiders and Huskers he was near perfect (25 of 37, 544 yards with 5 TDS and 1 INT).

The Rebels appear to have all the tools in place offensively this season. We will know pretty quick what the BCFC can expect from Scott Borden as he is expected to lead his team on its longest and arguably most difficult road trip in week one when they travel to Kelowna to take on the Okanagan Sun. If we see Borden at his best will there be a debate on who is the best quarterback in the BCFC?

 

My prediction? Expect to see Colby Henkel edge out Scott Borden in a close vote at seasons end.