October 2, 2021 Langley, BC ( ISN ) – The Westshore Rebels and the Langley Rams butted heads Saturday at McLeod Stadium in Langley, BC in week four BC Football Conference action with the host side coming away with a confident 37-7 win.
With the loss, the Shane Beatty- coached Rebels fall to 1-3 on the season despite rostering a young, but talented squad that, on preseason paper, looked to be leading the standings in the BCFC at this point of the season.
In a rematch of the 2019 Cullen Cup final where the Rams would dominate 35-12 in their last meeting, the Westshore Rebels looked forward to not only give the Rams their first loss of the 2021 season, but also redeem themselves from that 2019 BC Football Conference Final loss and serve notice to the rest of the league that despite the slow start to the season, that they intend to compete come the post season after posting a slow, 1-2 start.
Unfortunately, that would not come to pass as the now 4-0 Rams would dominate the grid iron much of the game, looking poised to take a strangle hold on the BCFC regular season standings with the win, outscoring their opponents 88-8.
Last weekend the Rebels would pick up their first win of the season against the Kamloops Broncos in a lopsided affair that saw the home side Rebels use a fourth quarter score-fest to run away with a 50-14 win against the now last place Broncos.
The Rebels would play near-even with the Rams in the first quarter only down by ten points, however costly turnovers resulting in 106 yards lost and 125 yards in penalties would seem to work against Westshore most of the game despite three visits to the red zone, taking themselves out of scoring position.
Westshore Rebels QB Colby Henkel would be the loan scorer for the Vancouver Island team. In his final year of eligibility, Henkel and his team were surely looking for the “W” on Saturday with confidence after the pivotman for Westshore generated 572 yards offense last weekend against the Kamloops Broncos.
Henkel would rush 18 yards for the major in the third quarter on what appeared to be a broken play. Looking determined for the score, Henkel would tip toe the last 5 yards down the side just out of the reach of a Rams defender to briefly change the game’s momentum. Henkel would finish the game with 132 yards on 10/17 passing to go along with his thirty-three yards rushing.
His Ram’s counterpart, Trey Jones, would fare better in the win, orchestrating majors twice through the air to Daniel Kubongo and another pair on the legs of running back Derek Best. Rams would also convert four times on the extra point, score a field goal, and be the recipient of three Rebel’s conceded safeties.
In a bright spot for Rebels, running back Zach Lubin continues to light the way for his team when needed with his power running ability. Lubin, spending his rookie year with the Langley Rams, would earn 64 hard-earned yards Saturday evening, giving him 306 yards rushing over the last two games and for the season so far. Lubin would also catch the ball from Henkel twice for thirty-nine yards offense in the 37-7 loss.
The Rebels will have one week to iron out the play book before travelling north to visit their perennial nemesis, the VI Raiders ( 2-2 ) of Nanaimo. The twice-per-season matchup has always been “spirited”, with the Westshore Rebels coming out on top in recent years in some great island football action.
The Thanksgiving weekend game will be held on Saturday October 9th at Nanaimo District Secondary School. Game time is 7pm.
Henkle leads the league so far this season in both completion percentage, and efficiency rating, and sits in a three-way tie for TD’s thrown.
