The Nanaimo Redmen will go into playoffs on a winning streak.
The city's Vancouver Mainland Football League midget team (2-8) won its regular-season finale on Saturday in the Fraser Valley, 24-14 over the Chilliwack Giants (7-3).
Redmen coach Sean Rodel called it a "character win," as his team endured a long travel day and played in the pouring rain. The visitors jumped to a 14-0 lead, let the home team back in it, but then took back control in the second half of the game.
"It was a matter of cutting down on our mistakes and taking advantage of theirs," said Roden.
Nanaimo ran the ball effectively on offence and the red team's defence forced Chilliwack to try to go to the passing game in bad weather. James Danylchuk and Dylan Tucker scored rushing touchdowns for the Redmen and Tucker threw a TD pass to Jon Evenson. Spencer Vos added a field goal.
Nanaimo ended up needing to win its last two games to get into the post-season and the coach said his players went into Saturday's finale with a positive frame of mind.
"Even though our record was poor, we've gone into every game with the confidence that we believe that we can do some damage and at the very least be competitive, if not win," Roden said.
GAME ON … The Redmen face the Coquitlam Falcons (7-3) in the first round of the VMFL playoffs. Kickoff is 3 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 11) at Coquitlam's Percy Perry Stadium. Look for a preview on Saturday at www.nanaimobulletin.com/sports.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com