Jordan Yantz threw for four touchdown passes and ran for another to pace the Vancouver Island Raiders to a 44-14 victory over the Westshore Rebels on a steamy Saturday night at Bear Mountain Stadium.
The Vancouver Island Raiders' star quarterback scampered out of trouble to help open a 10-0 lead and the visitors used costly penalties and mistakes from the home side to pull away.
Two quick strikes, just 1: 39 apart late in the second quarter, gave the Raiders a 24-7 advantage at the break, and they never looked back.
What should have been a 10-7 game got away from the Rebs, who were tagged with two roughing penalties and an ill-timed interception throw by Mark Black deep in Westshore's own territory.
"Just mental errors, really," said Rebels' linebacker Chris Pastro, who looked good in the loss. "We were in it until we started breaking down mentally.
"I really think if we were there all game mentally, the outcome might have been a bit different. Unfortunately, stuff happens."
Yantz used his feet to elude the Rebels' defence, which flushed him out of the pocket three times on the first series alone. But he ran twice for 30 yards on the first two, then had way too much time on the third.
Yantz eventually found Whitman Tomusiak for a five-yard TD strike 5: 55 in, and Mark Mueller made it 10-0 Raiders with a 29-yard field goal at 9: 36 of the first.
Westshore replied with Black's QB keeper from the one - set up by a nifty 35-yard screen play to Niles Goguen - to cut it to 10-7 at 9: 33 of the second. That's when it got costly.
The Raiders immediately replied with an eight-play, 94-yard drive that ended with a one-yard Yantz TD keeper, assisted by the roughing penalties, to up the lead to 17-7 at 12: 11. Yantz then connected with Dustin Pederson 1: 39 later on a three-yard TD pass after Ariel Fabbro's interception inside Westshore's 30.
At that point Yantz had three TD passes for a total of 16 yards.
Marshall Cook (eightyard TD catch), Mueller (14-and 37-yard field goals) and Tomusiak (70-yard TD catch and run with Yantz) added scores in the second half for the Raiders.
Jesse Herman, replacing Black at quarterback, connected with Eric Eggleston on a 25-yard TD strike for the Rebs. Eggleston had a decent night offensively for Westshore.
