Photo courtesy of Louis Christ Photography

The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is proud to announce the First-Team Offensive All-Canadians for the 2023 season.

Offensive Line

Isaiah Letander – Valley Huskers (second consecutive season)
Jeff Vander Werff – Okanagan Sun (second consecutive season)
Ezzat Elnagmi – St. Clair Saints
Cody Shumanski – Saskatoon Hilltops
Riley Schick – Regina Thunder

Receivers

Kieran Poissant – Westshore Rebels (second consecutive season) – 54 receptions, 849 yards and 13 touchdowns

Drake Douglas – Saskatoon Hilltops - 42 receptions for 591 yards and 4 touchdowns

Javier Lewis – St. Clair Saints - he caught 20 passes for 536 yards and had a Conference high seven touchdowns

Nicholas Sirleaf – Calgary Colts - 45 receptions for 739 yards and 8 touchdowns

Running Backs

LJ Dyer – London Beefeaters - he won the Ontario Conference rushing title with 1158 yards on 136 carries and had nine touchdowns

Boston Davidsen – Saskatoon Hilltops - 170 carries for 1184 yards and 9 touchdowns

Quarterback

Te Jessie – Westshore Rebels (second consecutive season) – 150 of 212 for 2453 yards, 41 touchdowns.  He completed 70.8% of his passes, the second-best percentage in CJFL history.

Place Kicker

Teijon Abel-Douglas – Saskatoon Hilltops - 23 of 27, 85.2% field goals

RETURN SPECIALIST

Caleb Akerley – Edmonton Huskies - 23 punt returns for 180 yards, 23 kick-off returns for 512 yards

Following the CJFL Celebration of Excellence on Friday night in Westshore, the CJFL will announce the Outstanding Award winners for 2023.

Westshore Rebels 33
Okanagan Sun 19

We will have new CJFL Canadian Bowl champion after the Westshore Rebels beat the Okanagan Sun on Saturday in the BC Conference Cullen Cup championship game 33-19.  The Rebels will now host the 2023 Canadian Bowl on November 11th. 

After a low scoring first half, the Rebels exploded for 29 points in the third quarter enroute to the victory. Their offence was led by All-Star quarterback Te Jessie who was 13 of 23 for 175 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Cairo Berry in the third quarter.   Jessie also ran for a touchdown as did Gerren Hardisty. 

The Rebels’ defense was very good once again and even got on the scoreboard in their massive third quarter.  On a bad Sun snap, BC Conference Defensive Player of the Year Demar Hohnstein picked up the loose ball and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown.  Riley Berfelo also forced a turnover, intercepting a pass.

The Sun reign over the CJFL ends after falling to the Rebels on Saturday.  Their offence outgained the highflying Rebels 312-284 but found it difficult to get into the endzone in the second half.  Quarterback Liam Kroeger completed 10 of 18 for 165 yards and hit Ethan Mashall for a major in the fourth quarter.

Running back Elelyon Noa had the lone touchdown of the first half when he punched it in to give the Sun a 12-4 halftime lead.

The Sun defence did force six Rebels turnovers and collected five sacks.  Romario Red had a pair of sacks and Tariq Brown and Isaac Hegwood each picked off a pass.  Philip Palmarin had an outstanding game blocking two kicks and had a team high six tackles. 

The Rebels advance to their first Canadian Bowl since 2016 when they hosted and lost to the Saskatoon Hilltops.   The game will take place at Starlight Stadium in Westshore, BC on Saturday November 11th as the Rebels will host either the Hilltops or the St. Clair Saints.