September 2nd, 2023 Langley, BC (ISN) – The Westshore Rebels rebounded from a poor three-quarter showing to defeat the upstart Langley Rams 28-21 on their home turf at McLeod Stadium, continuing their undefeated streak to sit atop the 2023 BCFC standings with a 5-0 record.
After rolling over the Okanagan Sun the week prior in a game many thought to be a season-defining game for one of the two teams, it would have been easy to write off the then 2-1 Rams considering the Rebels dominating performances to date.
A much-improved team since the early season, the Rams offence, run by starting QB Trey Jones, would give the Rebels defense all they could handle early, forcing Westshore into a penalty-laden first half to control the score board and the lead with a half time 14-7 score. Throwing three interceptions in the first half, Rebels starting QB Te Jessie would put the ball in the hands running back Gerren Hardisty, scoring his first of two touchdowns in the game, to give the Langford-based team their only TD of the first 30 minutes.
Unaccustomed to not finding the endzone early and often, scoring an average 60 points over the first four games of the season, the Rebels’ undisciplined play would give the Rams everything they needed to hold the game’s momentum into halftime. Facing adversity, the Rebels would be penalized 11 times to the tune of 77 yards negative yards going into the mid-game locker room.
ISN would have liked to be a fly on the wall, in the Rebels locker room to hear Head Coach Dexter Janke’s “words of wisdom” to his team, but it was evident that whatever his speech was it had an effect on his team coming out in the second half of the game.
The Rebels defense, noted by many as one of the best in the country, would begin to play the non-stop brand of defense that Westshore fans have grown accustomed to seeing over the last four games of the season, giving their offensive line a chance to find an on-field game rhythm to respond with. Running virtually penalty-free in the entire second half with only 2 penalties for a mere 10 yards, the D-line would hold Langley’s QB Trey Jones to only 9/19 pass attempts completed for 171 yards through the final 30 minutes of the game. Rebels’ linebacker Demar Hohnstein would once again be a menace for the opposing side with another remarkable performance, amassing an amazing 8 solo tackles, 2 assisted tackles, 1 special teams tackle, and a forced fumble. Over the first five games of the season Hohnstein has been a force, racking up at total of 46 tackles and a QB sack in support of his team.
Both teams would remain scoreless in the third quarter, with the Rams still up a touchdown 14-7 with fifteen minutes remaining in the game.
Football aficionados will sometimes grade a team’s greatness on their resiliency under pressure, and the Rebels fit the bill in the fourth frame as Westshore’s QB Jessie would orchestrate a comeback performance that is rarely seen in a final quarter of BCFC football play.
The Rebels offense would find another gear in the final quarter, looking more like the team of the past four games. Westshore’s ball slinger would activate the Rebels ground game, marching his team downfield to tie the game on and eight-yard QB keeper to start the comeback, the score now knotted at 14-14. After a great down field Rams’ tackle would hem in the Rebels on their own 23-yard line, Jessie would go to work again, airing the ball out to receiver Kieran Poissant streaking down the right hash mark. Poissant with the successful reception near the Rams 45 yard line, would shrug off two Langley tacklers in close quarters to sprint to the left end zone marker for an 88 yard reception and the TD, putting his team up for the first time in the game 21-14 with eight minutes to play in the game. Poissant would be instrumental in helping his team move the ball, hauling in 181 yards pass reception on ten catches.
The Rams, taking the ball into Rebels territory, would reply with their own TD pass over the middle from Jones to Broxx Comia on a 48 yard catch and run play to beat two Westshore defenders, taking the ball to the house to tie the game again 21-21 on the Rams only score of the second half.
With time running out for the Rebels to salvage a regulation-time win, Te Jessie wouldn’t shy away from using his trusted receivers in Poissant and Cairo Berry to move the ball down field an into the red zone, catching the Rams on their heels. With sixty-three seconds remaining in game, Rebels running back Hardisty would carry the ball from eight yards out, pinballing off two Rams defenders to put the Langford team in the lead with the final touchdown of the game, his second major of the afternoon, in bookend fashion.
Rams’ Trey Jones would try to advance the ball in the comeback attempt, but Rebels defender Demar Hohnstein would step to the plate to deny a Langley first down reception with crushing hit on the Rams’ receiver , and then shut the door on the next play, forcing a fumble recovery in favour of a Rebels possession to turn aside any hope of a Langley answer, and seal the come-from-behind 28-21 win.
The Westshore Rebels would finish with 419 net yards offense in the win, turning the game around with 228 net yards offense in the second half alone on a 292-yard passing performance by Jessie.
The Rebels next host the Valley Huskers ( 4-1 ) of Chilliwack, September 9th in another potential season-defining game.
