Tim Collins/Contributor
The Westshore Rebels owned the 2023 B.C. Football Conference season.
They dominated the year with an undefeated record of 12-0 and, on Oct. 21, headed into the BCFC final, the Cullen Cup, full of confidence.
The game against the Okanagan Sun tested that confidence, however, when the Rebels found themselves trailing the Sun. They’d managed only two safeties in the first two quarters and headed into the locker room at half trailing 12-4.
The mood was dark. It was, after all, the Sun that had the undefeated season in 2022 and had rolled over the Rebels 38-0 on their way to winning the Canadian Bowl national championship.
But in the locker room, the Rebels, inspired by head coach Dexter Janke, got their mojo back.
“We are family and that was not how it was going to end for us,” said running back Gerren Hardisty.
And it didn’t.
The Rebels went on to score 29 points in the third quarter, flipping the script for a final score of 33-19.
That victory won them the Cullen Cup and sent them on to the Canadian Bowl National Championship for the first time since 2016. They’ll be facing the Saskatoon Hilltops, who clinched their spot in the national championship with a stunning 43-0 shutout of the St. Clair Saints.
This year’s Rebels are led by Janke, and that seems to have made a change in the team’s approach.
“Dexter has changed the team a lot. He’s a great coach and an even better person. His personality has changed the team – we’ve taken on his personality,” said Rebels quarterback, Te Jessie.
Janke, in turn, credits his players and his coaching staff for the team’s success.
“The best thing about it is everybody is engaged. Everybody has the same mentality and wants to prepare these young men as best as possible,” said Janke.
“Our focus was never to break records. The thing that we have said to our guys is if you’re signing up and committing to being a Rebel, you are committing to doing it better than it’s ever been done.”
The last Island team to win the Canadian Bowl was the Nanaimo-based V.I. Raiders in 2006, 2008 and 2009 – powered by eventual CFL star and four-time Grey Cup champion Andrew Harris.
But Janke and the Rebels are intent on putting a new milestone into the record books.
The Canadian Championship will be played at the Starlight Stadium in Langford on Nov. 11 at 3 p.m.
Tickets are available at www.westshorerebels.ca.
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