Sometimes the play of the day isn’t an obvious one.
On Saturday at Caledonia Park, the V.I. Raiders made the plays they needed to make in a 33-20 win over the Okanagan Sun.
Maybe the biggest play of all came with just seconds left on the clock and the outcome all but certain. Raiders quarterback Jordan Yantz aired out a 28-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Andrew Smith to extend the margin of victory.
“That was a decision that I wanted to make,” said Matthew “Snoop” Blokker, Raiders coach. “I think everyone in the park thought we were just going to run it and we scored … We caught them not ready with one play left.”
When everyone else at Caledonia was thinking the Raiders would just try to protect the ball and the win, the coach was thinking endzone. Because one year ago, he recalled, the Sun won the season series on point differential and got to host the B.C. Football Conference championship game.
“We want to give ourself the opportunity to play the B.C. championship in our park. That’s what we’re fighting for and [Saturday] was one huge step towards it,” Blokker said. “Now they’ve got to beat us by 14 to take over first place.”
GRID BITS … The V.I. Raiders (5-0) are taking time off during a conference-wide bye week. Their next game is Sept. 13 when the Westshore Rebels visit Caledonia Park for a 2 p.m. kickoff … The Raiders and the Sun won’t meet again until Oct. 9 in Kelowna in the last game of the regular season.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com