V.I. Raiders Crush Chilliwack

Nanaimo News Bulletin - Chris Hamlyn

The Vancouver Island Raiders kept their perfect season going as they rolled over the Chilliwack Huskers on the weekend.

Nanaimo's Canadian Junior Football League team (6-0) dominated the opposition 54-14 Saturday at Caledonia Park.

Once again the Raiders had to do it without the services of tailback Andrew Harris, who watched the game from the sidelines, on crutches. Even without their star runner, the V.I. rushing attack was potent. Tailbacks Brett Willsie and Mike McMaster, fullback Jordan Botel and quarterback Marc Migneault combined for 231 yards and five touchdowns on 22 carries.

Migneault - who got the bulk of the work under centre after backing up Jordan Yantz the first five games of 2009 - also threw two TD passes to Robin Medeiros and finished 9-for-12 for 197 yards.

Medeiros had four catches for 112 yards and added 126 yards on special teams with his punt and kick returns.

The V.I. defence had another strong effort. Huskers tailback Matt Peterson, the B.C. Football Conference's reigning rushing champ, was held to 22 yards on 12 carries and Chilliwack's QB Clayton Kroeker was 11-of-25 passing for 138 yards, two TDs and two interceptions.

Safety Levar Hayden had both picks and linebacker Lucas Desmet also had a big game with seven tackles. Linebacker Glenn Boyce had three tackles and a sack.

Raiders kicker Mark Mueller hit one out of two field goal attempts from 40-plus yards and rounded out the scoring with seven converts.

GRID BITS ... The win all but secured a playoff berth for the Raiders, who would have to drop their next three league games then lose by 40-plus points in their final game to miss the post-season ... Other CJFL action this past weekend saw Victoria whip Vancouver 84-19 and South Surrey surprise Okanagan 34-26 ... The V.I. team has a bye week before it hosts the Victoria Rebels (4-2) Sept. 26.