Photo courtesy of  Matthew  Hamilton

The Winnipeg Rifles are expecting big things from their running attack in 2024 and will be looking to Kaiden Banfield to make an impact. 

Last year during his third CJFL season he carried the load on the ground for the Rifles with 573 yards on 128 carries and tallied four touchdowns.   He is not only a physical runner who loves to pound through the line for tough yards, but he is also very versatile coming out of the backfield making 23 receptions last year for another 227 yards and three more majors. 

Now heading into his fourth season, Banfield has high expectations on himself and has a personal goal of being named a CJFL All-Canadian. 

When he looks back at some of his most memorable plays from his first three seasons, the one that stands out the most came last year and surprisingly it didn’t come on the ground.  Banfield would leak out of the backfield and catch a pass against the Calgary Colts and scamper 45-yards for a touchdown.  For a running back, grabbing a pass and making a big play like that adds to the excitement. 

To date, his favourite game of his CJFL career came last year against the Edmonton Wildcats.  He exploded for three touchdowns to help his club record the come-from-behind victory.

Banfield and the Rifles have already had their spring camp and will open the season on August 11th when they host the Regina Thunder in a one o’clock kickoff.

Kaiden Banfield is a CJFL Player to Watch in 2024.