When something is almost off the charts, is it really a reliable gauge? That is something for the Westshore Rebels to ponder as they open the home portion of their sa国际传媒 Football Conference schedule today at at Starlight Stadium against the Kamloops Broncos following the season opening 69-0 win over the Vancouver Island Raiders in the Island derby at Nanaimo.
The Rebels rolled up 503 net yards of offence to 92 for the Raiders to make short work of the billed Battle of the Rock. But a blowout opening derby victory does not a season make.
“It was a good start but there is still much to improve on,” said Westshore head coach Dexter Janke.
“We had 14 penalties and several of them were the kind that were under our control,” added Janke, a former CFL defensive back and special-teams player, who played in two Grey Cup games with the Calgary Stampeders and won the Cup in 2019 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
All eyes this season are on the potent Rebels duo of quarterback Te Jessie and receiver Kieran Poissant, who both attended sa国际传媒 Lions training camp, with Poissant getting into two CFL exhibition games.
Yet it was the ground game that was the offensive story of the season opener for Westshore as Gerren Hardisty ran the ball seven times for 122 yards and a touchdown as part of a running attack that rolled up 248 yards on 26 carries by six runners.
“It shows we have a well-rounded offence,” said Janke.
“Our offensive line imposed itself and our running backs were not touched. Gerren [Hardisty] was particularly dynamic.”
Belmont Secondary Bulldogs-grad Hardisty also did it in the air with a 53-yard touchdown reception as Jessie threw for 10 completions on 16 attempts for 164 yards and five touchdown passes before backup Ethan Pickard came in to mop up with seven completions on 15 attempts for 104 yards and one touchdown.
The five touchdown passes got the BCFC offensive player of the week honour for Jessie, son of Super Bowl- and Grey Cup-champion Tim Jessie and the 2022 BCFC offensive player of the year with 169 completions, 2,864 passing yards and 28 passing touchdowns in 10 regular-season games last season.
It was a relatively quiet opening game for Poissant, the league’s top receiver last season with 49 catches for 811 yards and 10 touchdowns in 10 regular-season games. Poissant had three catches for 28 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders last weekend but was outpaced by Cairo Berry with two catches for 52 yards and two touchdowns and Kwame Franklin with four catches for 63 yards. That’s a good sign for the Rebels. It shows their passing attack is not one dimensional, and that opposing corners and safeties can’t just key on Poissant, which will free him up for even more catches as the season progresses.
The Rebels defence has yet to be scored on, which is a rarity in the Canadian brand of football, and not often accomplished in the American version either.
“There are so many ways to score in the Canadian game and so it was nice to get the goose egg,” said Janke.
“It’s a young group and defence and we will graduate only two players.”
The Rebels, who made it to the BCFC championship game for the Cullen Cup before losing out to the Okanagan Sun last season, don’t have any tape this season of the Broncos because the Kamloops club drew an opening-week bye.
“We know the Broncos have a high-powered offence and that it’s their first game of the season, so they are going to be excited,” said Janke.
So are the Rebels for their home opener.
“Our guys were ready to play Tuesday,” said Janke.
“Our core group of local players are excited to be home playing in front of friends, family and community supporters.”
The Raiders (0-1) are in Langley today to play the Rams (0-1) while the Fraser Valley Huskers of Chilliwack (1-0) are in Kelowna to meet the Sun (1-0). The Prince George Kodiaks have a bye week.
GRIDIRON NOTES: Rebels bench boss Janke also competed for sa国际传媒 in bobsled on the World Cup circuit as the side brakeman. He considered pursuing the four-year quadrennial to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics but instead took the opportunity to play for the Blue Bombers in 2019.
