Give Charly Cardillichia credit, he called his team’s shot back on Sept. 22, stating the Westshore Rebels would not only win their last two regular-season games, but go on to win the B.C. Football Conference for the second straight season.
The outspoken rookie Rebels coach is 2-for-2 on the predictions so far and his team — which has now won nine straight games after an opening loss, setting an all-time franchise record for victories in a season — enters the final stage of his prognostications.
“Yeah, we have to clean some stuff up. Yeah, we average 20 penalties a game, but we’ve won seven in a row to go to 7-1 and we’re about to go 8-1 and then 9-1 and we’re about to take this conference. That’s the bottom line,” he boldly stated in September, ruffling more than a few feathers across the league.
The comments came after a come-from-behind 33-28 win over the same squad the Rebels face tonight at 7 at Westhills Stadium in one BCFC semifinal, the Langley Rams. Westshore was down 27-11 in that one and then handled the Valley Huskers and Okanagan Sun to wrap up regular-season play.
Langley (4-6) ventures into Langford (9-1) to try to hand the Rebels their first home loss (in BCFC regular-season or playoff action, not counting last year’s Canadian Bowl) in two years. The Sun (8-1-1) play host to the Vancouver Island Raiders (6-3-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the other semifinal.
“I was true to my word,” Cardilicchia said of the predictions. “Some people may look at that and say it’s being cocky or arrogant, but the absolute truth behind that is I’m very confident and I believe in my team, extremely.
“So the bottom line is, if it affects them or bothers them, I apologize, but the bottom line is we’re about to take this conference and that’s the truth,” he said, tossing another bomb out there for opponents to sink their teeth into.
“This is a big game for us. The fact that we were able to get home-field advantage throughout the playoffs is very big for this program because we have the toughest road to the Canadian championship. Be very clear that the Cullen Cup [BCFC title] is not the trophy I’m after, the Canadian Bowl [CJFL title] is.
“By having two [BCFC playoff] home games now, that gives us the easier road possible, if that makes sense,” he added. “We still have to go to the Prairies once we get out of this conference and then we go to Ontario so there is still travel involved. It’s still a difficult road, but helping ourselves with two home playoff games is massive.”
One negative is that offensive lineman Christian Krause, who was named a BCFC offensive all-star for the second straight season this week, is likely out as he nurses an injury. Krause was joined on the offensive all-star team by fellow lineman Tyson Thompson, quarterback Scott Borden Jr., running back Trey Campbell and receiver D’Saun Greenaway.
Defensively, linemen Kent Hicks and Jeremie Drouin were the only selections. Like Krause, this is Hicks’ second straight nod.
Tonight’s matchup is interesting in that the last time these teams met was a strong building block for the Rebels, who rebounded to shut down the Rams in the second half after horrendous penalties put them in a huge hole the first 30 minutes.
“That was our turning point, like the Y in the road for us,” said Cardilicchia. “We had one of the most penalized first halves in the history of the CJFL. They started within our 20-yard line three times, so we spotted them a bunch of points.
“In the second half we came to the realization that we were hurting ourselves. The players turned it around and since that comeback we’ve grown as a team and understand what we’re capable of. They’re buying in right now so I’m quite proud of how they’ve grown and matured through the process.”
With the injury to Krause, the versatile Hicks moved over and also helped on offence last week.
“He’s become quite the leader in our locker-room and when you get a guy like Kent buying in, the rest of the guys get in behind him because of the type of player he is,” said Cardilicchia, who believes his team is playing its best football right now.
POINT AFTER: The Rebels are asking fans to bring non-perishable food items for donation to the Mustard Seed food bank.
