Ben Chessor
The Navigator
Photo by Ben Chessor
The VI Raiders finished off yet another British Columbia Football Conference regular season on October 7 at Nanaimo’s Caledonia Park as the Raiders put a season ending beat-down on their island rival, Westshore Rebels, by a score of 71-0. Nanaimo had a 28-0 lead after the first quarter, and a 55-0 lead at the half.
The win gave the Raiders an 8-2 record this season. The 16 points gave the Raiders first place in the BCFC regular season standing. This marked the seventh time in the last nine years that the Raiders had won the regular season title. The Okanagan Sun also had 16 points and finished in a tie, but the Raiders won the tie breaker between the two teams because they scored more points during the teams’ two regular season meeting, in which each team won once.
The VI Raiders football team got off to a tough start in their 2013 British Columbia Football Conference season. The Raiders won their season opener defeating Westshore 35-10. The Raiders then did something that people in Nanaimo had not become accustomed to over the last nine seasons—they lost back-to-back games. The Raiders fell 17-3 on the road in Okanagan before returning to Nanaimo the following week for a rare home loss of 36-28 against the visiting Langley Rams. The loss to Langley was on August 10. The Raiders then went on a tear, winning the season’s last seven games to clinch the regular season title.
The Raiders begin the playoffs looking for their seventh Cullen Cup as BCFC playoff champions in the last eight seasons. The Raiders’ first playoff game is on October 12 at 1pm at Caledonia Park against the Kamloops Broncos. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students. If the Raiders defeat the Broncos they will host the 2013 Cullen Cup the following weekend.
For more information on the Raiders and where to buy tickets, please visit the Raiders’ website at viraiders.ca