It seems only fitting that one of the best high school football players to ever come out of the Victoria area would be involved in the first CIS game to be contested in the area.
Former Mount Douglas Rams star Marcus Davis will lead the defending Vanier Cup-champion UBC Thunderbirds against the Manitoba Bisons in a preseason sa国际传媒 West matchup, dubbed the Thunder Bowl tonight at 7 at Westhills Stadium in Langford.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a lot of fun. The last time I played in Victoria was a [high school] playoff game and I thought it would be the last time I鈥檇 play there, so it鈥檚 going to be a cool little homecoming. I鈥檓 excited for that,鈥� said Davis, who lines up at slotback and returns punts for the T-Birds.
Davis in not the only Island product with UBC. The T-Birds also feature former Vancouver Island Raiders Dylan Chapdelane and Marshall Cook; Nick Cessford of Parksville; and Edgar Nelson of Belmont.
鈥淎 lot of the guys are excited about coming back and playing in front of family and friends,鈥� added Davis, who turned 20 on Monday.
The five-foot-10, 185-pound speedster expects to see his fair share of the action as well.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been like a short, but long off-season in one. We鈥檙e just all excited about playing football again,鈥� said Davis, who was lifting weights and running before training camp began last Saturday.
鈥淓very team is going to give us their best shot,鈥� he said of carrying the title of 2015 Vanier Cup champions. 鈥淲e just have to go out and prepare and be champions. We want to prove to everyone why we were so successful last year. Just play our game and do what we know we鈥檙e capable of.
鈥淰anier Cup or bust 鈥� that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e striving for. Our coaching staff and players don鈥檛 expect anything less,鈥� said Davis, who last season had 39 rushes for 102 yards and two touchdowns and added 51 catches for 705 yards and five major scores.
The talented former Ram added 243 yards on kick returns and a solid 678 yards on punt returns, including two more TDs.
Of course, older brother Terrell Davis starred as a linebacker in the Vanier Cup season and is now playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL, while former Westshore Rebels kicker Quinn Van Gylswyk 鈥� who booted the winning points in the 2015 CIS final 鈥� is with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
鈥淗e says he鈥檚 having a lot of fun and he loves doing what he鈥檚 doing,鈥� Marcus said of Terrell, who has played mainly special teams, although he saw some action at linebacker last week as the Ticats shredded the Riders.
Meanwhile, the Manitoba Bisons also feature some local talent in former Raiders Dustin Pederson and Ryan Jones; Tyler Fong of the Rams and Rebels; Julian Lewis and Easton Garard of the Rams; and Colton Farago of the Rebels.
The Bisons had a number of players leave their program to join the junior Rebels in 2016 in Christian Krause, Jamel Lyles, Lerenzo Ihanza, Kent Hicks and recruit Aarmin Purewal, who decided to stay in Victoria.
Tickets for the game can be purchased at vithunderbowl.com and all proceeds benefit Greater Victoria Minor Football, the Rebels and the UBC Football Island Scholarship Fund.
