Photo courtesy of Crazy Bees Photography

Five games highlight the Labour Day long weekend with one game already completed on Thursday night.

Hamilton Hurricanes 33
GTA Grizzlies 7

SATURDAY

St. Clair Saints @ London Beefeaters – Saturday September 3, 5:00pm – City Wide Field | WATCH HERE

For the first time this season the Saints and Beefeaters meet in a rematch of last year’s crazy Ontario Conference final that the Beefeaters came back to win.  That victory allowed them to host their first ever Canadian Bowl.

Fast forward to this season and these two are the only undefeated teams left in the Conference.  The Saints have been on a tear in the first three games averaging a 55-point victory as their defence has coughed up 20 points in total. That said two of their three victories came against the Quinte Skyhawks and they scored over 80 points each game. This will be their second straight road game and the first half of a home and home. 

Meanwhile the Beefeaters have also had three lopsided wins by an average of 36-points each.  Their defence has been solid giving up 27 points in the first three games and will have their biggest test yet against the Saints. 

The winner of this game will have sole possession of first place in the Conference and will remain undefeated in anticipation of the rematch next week at St. Clair.

Head-to-Head

Records: Saints 3-0 – Beefeaters 3-0
Points For: Saints 186 – Beefeaters 137
Points Allowed: Saints 20 – Beefeaters 37

Valley Huskers @ Langley Rams – Saturday September 3, 4:00pm – McLeod Stadium | WATCH HERE

It’s the second meeting of the season between these two BC Conference rivals after the Huskers won the first meeting 14-7 in early August.

The Huskers will be well rested after their bye last weekend but are coming off a loss in Prince George the week before.  Their offence has played well this season scoring over 30 points in two of their three wins and the defence is looking for a repeat performance against the Rams allowing just one point in the second half.  Jaiden Claassen was outstanding that game with eight tackles, had an interception and recovered a fumble.  

The Rams have played well as of late and have won two in a row and have been extremely consistent.  In both wins they scored 24 points, while in two of their three losses they scored only seven points.  In the earlier meeting with the Huskers their offence actually chewed up more yards than their opponent including 257 yards through the air.   That said, they were kept out of the end zone during that game. 

This is a very important game in the standings.  The Huskers are looking for their first ever season sweep of the Rams, while the Rams are hoping to beat the Huskers by more than seven points so that they can own the tiebreaker down the road. 

Head-to-Head

Records: Huskers 3-2 – Rams 2-3
Points For: Huskers 116 – Rams 82
Points Allowed: Huskers 95 – Rams 89

Passing Leaders: Josh Janssen – 72 of 133 for 958 yards and 7 touchdowns (Huskers) – Trey Jones – 31 of 52 for 472 yards and 1 touchdown (Rams)

Rushing Leaders: Reece Wyke – 93 carries for 496 yards and 4 touchdowns (Huskers) – Caleb Wheeler – 58 carries for 308 yards and 2 touchdowns (Rams)

Receiving Leaders: Dylan Manocha – 19 receptions for 265 yards and 1 touchdown (Huskers) – Beckham Dickie – 12 receptions for 199 yards (Rams)

Leading Tacklers: Jaiden Claassen – 21 tackles (Huskers) – Kinneth Balucos – 17 tackles (Rams)

Westshore Rebels @ Kamloops Broncos – Saturday September 3, 6:00pm – Hillside Stadium | WATCH HERE

It’s the second half of the home and home after the Rebels crushed the Broncos 49-7 last weekend on the Island.  The offence tallied 451 of their 531 total yards through the air as quarterback Te Jessie was brilliant completing 17 passes for 401 yards and threw four touchdowns.  Rookie Zion Brown caught five of those passes for 129 yards and was named the Offensive Player of the Week.

The Broncos offence was stopped by the Rebels “D” gaining 80 yards on the ground and 265 overall.   Their lone touchdown was scored in the third quarter, just before the Rebels responded with 27-points in the fourth quarter. 

This is an important game for both teams as the Rebels look to keep pace with the idle Okanagan Sun and the Broncos are trying to get back into the post season discussion. 

Head-to-Head

Records: Rebels 4-1 – Broncos 2-3
Points For: Rebels 197 – Broncos 90
Points Allowed: Rebels 119 – Broncos 123

Passing Leaders: Te Jessie – 84 of 146 for 1495 yards and 14 touchdowns (Rebels) – Reid Vankoughnett – 56 of 121 for 859 yards and 4 touchdowns (Broncos)

Rushing Leaders: Gerren Hardisty – 54 carries for 265 yards and 1 touchdown (Rebels) – Cam Grzegorczyk – 48 carries for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns (Broncos)

Receiving Leaders: Kieran Poissant – 20 receptions for 393 yards and 5 touchdowns (Rebels) – Colton Meikle – 17 receptions for 281 yards and 1 touchdown (Broncos)

Leading Tacklers: Cordell Holder – 20 tackles (Rebels) – Peter Orajekwe – 20 tackles (Broncos)

SUNDAY

Quinte Skyhawks @ Ottawa Sooners – Sunday September 4, 2:00pm – Carleton University 

The final game of the Labour Day weekend will be in the nation’s capital when the Sooners welcome the Skyhawks as these two teams meet for the first time in CJFL history.  

The Sooners have won two straight and cracked the CJFL Top 10 Power Rankings after an upset win at Hamilton last weekend 28-21.  Quinton Hodgson picked up a fumble and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown which turned out to be the play of the game in the Sooners victory.   They are trying for their third win in a row to keep pace with the Conference leaders and will move them into a second-place tie with a victory.

The Skyhawks have other ideas and will fight for their first win of the season.   In their three games this year they have battled the top two teams in the Conference and have been beaten badly.  Their offence has scored only 20 points but did get the first score of the game last weekend against the top ranked St. Clair Saints.  They will need a complete game to score their first win over the Sooners. 

Head-to-Head

Records: Skyhawks 0-3 – Sooners 2-1
Points For: Skyhawks 20 – Sooners 79
Points Allowed: Skyhawks – 218 – Sooners 70