With a shot of much needed confidence on their side, the Westshore Rebels venture into Kamloops tonight looking for a chance at win No. 1 of the young sa国际传媒 Football Conference season.
The 0-2 Rebels face the 1-1 Broncos at 7 p.m. with both teams coming off tight losses.
Westshore had a late 15-yard field goal attempt blocked in a 23-21 loss to the Vancouver Island Raiders, while the Broncos dropped a 25-17 decision at home at Hillside Stadium to the Langley Rams.
鈥淚t was a good character game. Strong character was revealed,鈥� said Rebels head coach J.C. Boice. 鈥淚 feel like our kids believed they could win the game. We鈥檙e still very, very young with a brand new offence and a brand new defence.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going to mention special teams,鈥� Boice added light-heartedly. 鈥淭hey came out well and we鈥檙e ready to go again. Our kids came to play, they worked hard. They played tough. They played fast and they played physical.
鈥淚t was the type of football we wanted. It was back to execution. That鈥檚 what cost us the first game and, while our execution was a lot better last week, it鈥檚 still what cost us the game.鈥�
Offensively, the Rebels posted 371 yards of net offence against the Raiders, who Westshore kept off the scoreboard in the second half.
Rebels quarterback Ahston MacKinnon finished 21-of-43 in passing for 365 yards, three touchdowns and an interception as he played the entire game. His favourite targets were Hunter Lake (eight catches for 136 yards and two TDs) and Eric Williams (six receptions for 114 yards and a TD).
鈥淭aking first reps all week and being able to go a full game with these guys definitely helped establish a better rhythm than back and forth,鈥� said Mackinnon, who platooned at QB with Lake for most of Game 1. 鈥淵eah, it came down to the field goal last week, but there were a lot of things we could have done better offensively.
鈥淚 know I missed a lot of cues, after watching [game] film, that I definitely should have hit 鈥� open routes that were there that I didn鈥檛 see. Things I could have done better and things that the offence could have done better.鈥�
This week the Rebels will be challenged by a talented Broncos quarterback in Stephen Schuweiler.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a tough kid and they have some very good receivers, too,鈥� Boice said of the opponent. 鈥淪chematically they create some challenges and they鈥檙e real physical on defence. We have another very interesting matchup and a tough challenge. They are a very good football team.鈥�
Schuweiler was limited by Langley to a 19-of-33 passing performance for 213 yards last week with a touchdown and an interception. The week before he was a solid 13-of-19 for 467 yards, seven TDs and one interception in a 72-17 win over the Valley Huskers.
Derek Yachison had five catches for 191 yards and four TDs in the latter game and added seven grabs for 84 yards and a major score last week in the loss. Schuweiler also utilizes Devin Csincsa and Jacob Palmarin in the offence.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a big target,鈥� Boice said of Yachison. 鈥淗e runs disciplined routes and he鈥檚 very physical going after the ball. He鈥檚 going to get his catches and his yards.鈥�
