Raiders, Rebels will Bash helmets

By Greg Sakaki of the Nanaimo News Bulletin

The V.I. Raiders are usually at the top of the standings, so they don’t play a lot of must-win games.

But they view every game against the Victoria Rebels as a must-win, so a game Sunday (Aug. 22) in Victoria shapes up as a big one. The Raiders are 16-0 versus the Rebels in pre-season, regular season and playoffs since entering the league in 2005. Just because the rivalry has been lopsided doesn’t make it any less intense, though. The rookie Raiders have been hearing all about it this week. “We get pumped up for every game,” said Whitman Tomusiak, rookie receiver. “But it’s the team we really want to beat.” Andrew Rowe, another first-year Raider, said his teammates have told him it’s a battle every year with Victoria. The linebacker hasn’t built any personal ill-will towards the Rebels yet, he said, but he’s working on it. “I just try to go along with it and try to hate them just as much,” Rowe said.

That hate sometimes makes for some nasty football games. At the very least, Sunday’s tilt will be physical, and that suits the Raiders just fine. “Whoever’s more physical’s going to win the game,” said Andrew Oake, another Raiders linebacker. “If you beat on them until the fourth quarter, they’re not going to be able to do anything in the fourth quarter.” Rowe said the Raiders are at their best when they play tough. “We’re going to come out on top as long as we’re doing the hitting,” he said. The Rebels have a fairly well-rounded team, with an attack led by the league’s leading rusher Sam Adu. Oake said the Raiders just need to play the same run-stopping defence the way they’ve been doing all year, and make sure to lock down on coverage. On offence, Tomusiak said the V.I. team needs to be willing to adapt to whatever the Rebels do defensively. “It’s going to be a good game,” Oake said. “We’re both going to play with emotion.”

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