Ottawa Sooners @ St. Clair Saints – Sunday October 20, 7:00pm – Acumen Stadium | WATCH HERE

The juggernaut Saints haven’t given their opposition much of a prayer this season as they get set to open the Canadian Bowl playoffs when they host the Ottawa Sooners in a semi-final on Sunday night.

The Saints are outscoring their opposition this season 61-4 on average and have homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.  They can beat teams in so many different ways on offence, defence and special teams.  

Offensively they are led by a flurry of Conference All-Stars and the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the Year in quarterback Maurice Sodja.  He is a duel threat quarterback who averaged just under 300 yards gained each game this season both throwing and running the ball.  Through the air he completed 68.6% of his passes for 1508 yards and 22 touchdowns while also running for 627 yards, averaging over 10 yards a carry and scored eight more majors. Sodja has a fabulous supporting cast as well getting time to throw the ball from the offensive line along with a pair of All-Star receivers in Darius France and Cam St. Kitts-Park and running back MJ Doyle-Marshall.

Over on the defence this team is stacked recording four shutouts and not giving up more than 10 points in any game this season.  They are littered with All-Stars including Defensive Player of the Year Jaylin Burnett and linebacker Mo Ibraheem and the Kazadi brothers in the secondary. 

The Sooners can play free and without any pressure as the underdogs in this game.  They were one of the two teams this season to score 10 points on the Saints and will obviously be looking for more on Sunday.  

They recorded a quarterfinal win over the Hamilton Hurricanes last weekend to get any playoff jitters out of their system.  This will be a tall task for the Sooners, but if they can get ahead of the Saints early and possibly cause some adversity on the other sideline it could give them some momentum and, in the playoffs, momentum can be a funny thing.  

Offensively they have some very dangerous weapons in Christian Phillips and Rashaad Johnson who will need to play major factors in this game.  The defence must get some turnovers and some big stops early not allowing the Saints to drive the field and score. 

The winner will advance to the Ontario Conference championship game and one step closer to hosting the 2024 Canadian Bowl on November 9th. 
 

Photo courtesy of Crazy Bees Photography

Westshore Rebels 46
Kamloops Broncos 6

It was another well-balanced game for the top ranked Rebels on Saturday staying undefeated.

Quarterback Te Jessie continues to be dominant throwing for 200 yards on 14 completions and three more touchdowns.  He found Kieran Poissant six times for 123 yards and two of those scores and hit Cairo Berry for the other.  Running back Gerren Hardisty gobbled up 134 yards on 14 carries. 

The defence forced six turnovers and Cody McMahon collected three sacks.

The lone Broncos score came on a touchdown pass to Colton Meikle from quarterback Tayen Lloyd in the fourth quarter.

This coming weekend the Rebels (8-0) will enjoy a bye and the Broncos (0-7) will host the VI Raiders (0-8).

Valley Huskers 34
Prince George Kodiaks 12

Coming off their bye week the Huskers were committed to the run game as their offensive line led the way in the rain to the tune of 324 yards.  Running back Reece Wyke galloped 22 times for 222 yards and scored two touchdowns.  Quarterback Tyran Duval returned after an injury and rushed for another major. 

Arguably the most exciting play of the game was a 103 yard kick-off return for a touchdown by Christopher Rolack III. 

Over on the defensive side, two players primarily stopped the Kodiaks.  Jaiden Claassen had an interception, eight tackles and seven assisted stops and Andy Ofosuhene tallied a game high 9.5 tackles.

The Kodiaks did manage some success on the ground with 266 yards led by Omarion Martin who rushed 18 times for 155 yards.  Their lone touchdown same from a short rush by Xander Shane. 

This coming weekend the Huskers (5-2) will visit the Langley Rams (5-2) in a massive game for third place, while the Kodiaks (2-5) will welcome the Okanagan Sun (5-1).

Langley Rams 56
VI Raiders 23

The Rams have been one of the hottest teams as of late with their third straight win, getting it done on both sides of the ball.

Offensively on the weekend quarterback Trey Jones moved the ball with 316 passing yards on 19 completions and threw touchdown passes to Terrel Jones, Ryan Goeson and Isaiah Anderson. 

The ground game also found success as Bruce Jones rushed for three scores and Isaiah Edwards rushed for another. 

The Rams defence didn’t give up much either, but did get themselves on the scoreboard.  Drew Lirag picked up a loose ball and returned it 50-yards for a touchdown.  Both Sean Cullen and Evan Nolli blocked a kick while Aiden Friskie picked off a pass. 

The Raiders found themselves playing catch-up the entire game.

Running back Favour Analike scored two touchdowns and quarterback Ben Chomolok hit Ryker Sansbury for a TD strike. 

This coming weekend the Rams (5-2) host the Valley Huskers (5-2) and the Raiders (0-8) visit the Broncos (0-7).