According to Westshore Rebels head coach Dexter Janke, the Canadian Bowl will be played in perfect weather this weekend.
“Perfect football weather is any weather in which football is played,” says Janke.
The junior football championship begins at 3pm on Saturday at Starlight Stadium in Langford and there is more perfection to the game than just the weather.
The visiting Rebels and Saskatoon Hilltops each have perfect records heading into the Canadian Bowl.
“They understand that this is the next game on the schedule,” Janke said of his team. “There will just be a few more people in the stands and a different opponent.”
It’s an opponent that has 22 Canadian Bowl championships. The Hilltops are tied with the Okanagan Sun for the most national championships in the 140-year history of the Canadian Junior Football League.
Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant says his group didn’t come this far to lose.
“We don’t even understand that word,” says the affable sergeant. “We’re just going to show up and play our best game of the year.”
The only time a Vancouver Island team won the Canadian Bowl on island soil was in 2006, when the Vancouver Island Raiders won their first of three championships on a last-second field goal by kicker Scott Dixon.
That Raider team included young Andrew Harris, who would rewrite junior football rushing records to become the CFL’s all-time leader in yards from scrimmage by a Canadian.
Rebels quarterback Te Jessie is relishing the chance to play this game at home and isn’t taking the national stage for granted.
“How many people actually get the opportunity to play in a championship game, let alone win a championship? It’s hard,” he says.
As for the conditions at kick-off, the weather forecast calls for a balmy 11°C and an 80% chance of rain.
“We’re from the prairie, we don’t care,” said Sargent, who noted his team would play the game in the parking lot if necessary.
“We would meet them there,” says Janke. “We have no problem with that.”
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