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CJFL Weekend Warrior: Yanda Yano

By Ryan Watters (@ryan2tswatters), 04/23/17, 5:00PM PDT

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A talented offensive lineman for the Langley Rams

Photo courtesy of Kirby Sports Photography

The Langley Rams ground game over the last number of years has been lethal with the likes of Nathan Lund and Joe Carter.  

The offensive line has always had big, talented bodies blowing open holes in the opposing defences and in 2016 it was no different.

Not only does Yanda Yano have one of the best names across the CJFL, he is one of the biggest reasons the Rams collected seven yards a carry and over 173 yards a game last season.

After spending the 2014 campaign with the VI Raiders, Yano sat out 2015 to rehab and to be eligible to play closer to home with the Rams in 2016.  The Rams offered Yano a “great group of players and coaches” to play with and says “we can definitely do great things if we’re all focused.”

The 2016 season didn’t end how Yano and the Rams wanted, losing in a heartbreaker to the Westshore Rebels in the BC Conference semi-final.  The loss left “a very bad taste in our mouths so I feel like we have some unfinished business.”

This offseason he’s working on strength and his fitness, something he wasn’t able to do the previous offseason due to ACL rehab.  This year he’s really putting the work in getting stronger, lifting 315lbs and getting ready for another gruelling season on the offensive line.

In just two seasons of CJFL football, Yano has caught the eye of a number of U Sports schools including the University of Ottawa, St. FX, Acadia, St. Mary’s and the University of Windsor.  That said he is primed for another season with the Rams hoping to develop even more following the 2017 season.  He says after the CJFL he hopes to play at the U Sport level which could open a path the CFL.

When the Port Coquitlam native is not on the practice field he says, “I like to watch game film whether it be of myself or of higher level o-linemen and see how I can potentially emulate what they do.”

As he’s preparing to enter his fourth season, Yanda Yano of the Langley Rams is a CJFL Weekend Warrior.