There’s a lot that’s new with the Raiders, but some things never change – like their rivalry with the Rebels.
The V.I. Raiders visit the Westshore Rebels this Saturday (Aug. 1) in B.C. Football Conference action.
V.I. coach Jerome Erdman will be facing Nanaimo’s Island rivals for the first time, and fans will demand that the new head coach and his young team extend the Raiders’ dominance over the Rebels. V.I. has never lost a junior football game against Victoria, period.
“It’s dangerous for us to think like that,” Erdman said. “We’ve only won one game. We went into that game and Langley really didn’t know what we were going to do and we were at home, so we had a bit of an advantage. Yes, we did play well, but we did not play outstanding.”
So he said this week’s matchup against Victoria is a “trap game” for V.I. if it isn’t careful.
“They got blown out Week 1; we played pretty well Week 1,” he said. “But what we did Week 1 won’t matter a jot if we don’t do it Week 2 against them.”
Winning in Victoria is important because the Raiders face the tough Okanagan Sun in Week 3, and Erdman said “we’ve got to be 2-0” going into that one.
GAME ON … The Raiders and Rebels kick off Saturday at 7 p.m. at Langford’s Westhills Stadium.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com