Quarterback is the most glaring and marquee position in football.
The rival Westshore Rebels and Vancouver Island Raiders have two of the best in the sa国际传媒 Football Conference. Mason Brown of the Rebels and Jake Laberge of the VI Raiders went at it Saturday night as the Raiders defeated the Rebels 33-7 in the Island derby.
It was the first meeting between the Rebels (1-1-1) and Raiders (3-1) since the latter upset the 2017 regular-season champion Rebels last fall in the Cullen Cup league final played at Westhills.
Third-year Raiders pivot Laberge, who helmed that upset victory on a wet and sloppy night in the 2017 league final, was named sa国际传媒 Lions BCFC offensive player of last week for orchestrating four consecutive scoring drives in that remarkable 35-34 comeback victory last weekend after trailing the Langley Rams 34-7 with 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Brown, meanwhile, is a Rebels rookie who came to this rivalry cold from across the country after playing a season in Nova Scotia for the Acadia University Axemen in U Sports.
It didn鈥檛 take long for Brown to sense the urgency of this rivalry, especially with the Rebels veterans heading into Saturday night's game speaking of seeking revenge for last year鈥檚 playoff finals loss to the VI Raiders.
鈥淚t鈥檚 motivation. None of us has really let it go,鈥� said veteran Westshore linebacker Raishaun Provo.
The history of this Island rivalry goes back longer than that, however, to 2004 when the now-VI Raiders franchise abruptly relocated from Victoria to Nanaimo. The Rebels were created on the South Island to fill the vacuum created by the loss. So a passionate, and sometimes nasty, rivalry was born, of which Saturday was the latest incarnation.
Brown comes to it from Hamilton, Ont., via Acadia.
He grew up a Hamilton Tiger-Cats fan, not only because it was his hometown team, but also because his father, Jeff Brown, played safety for the Ti-Cats in 1998 before a torn ACL ended his CFL career.
Jeff Brown, who also played at Acadia, was his son Mason鈥檚 coach throughout the latter鈥檚 youth football days in Hamilton.
鈥淢y dad coached me from Day 1 and taught me everything,鈥� said Mason Brown. 鈥淣ow I want to reach my full potential. My goal is to play in the CFL some day.鈥�
Plenty of players have done just that out of Canadian junior football. Former Rebels receiver Rob Cote retired this year after 11聽seasons with the Calgary Stampeders and having played in four Grey Cup games. Andrew Harris came out of the VI Raiders to last week become only the second Canadian running-back after Norm Kwong, and 12th player in CFL history, to rush for 7,000 career yards.
鈥淭he biggest thing I learned from my dad is to have confidence, never give up and always play to the end,鈥� said Brown.
Laberge, a Maple Ridge product out of Terry Fox Secondary in Port Coquitlam, also has people talking about him taking it to the next level in U Sports.
While Brown and Laberge have talented and fleet arrays of receivers to choose from, both the Rebels and Raiders also feature aggressive, swarming defences that are out to stymie them.
Rebels head coach Charly Cardilicchia began a three-game suspension Saturday, imposed by the league for comments he made in the media.
鈥淲e stand behind Charly. Our group has handled it well,鈥� said Westshore defensive co-ordinator Shane Beatty, whose three-game stint as acting head coach began Saturday against the VI Raiders.
After the Labour Day bye weekend, the Island derby continues Sept. 8 when the Rebels travel the Trans-sa国际传媒 to meet the VI Raiders at Caledonia Park in Nanaimo.
