The New Year is here and for most of us it’s a time to reset, refocus and try once again to hang onto our resolutions for the next 12 months.  For the 19 CJFL teams, preparation for the 2026 season is well underway as they hope their own New Years resolutions will help them to success by holding the Canadian Bowl trophy over their head in November.

With resolutions fresh on your mind, here is just one for each of the seven teams in the BC Conference.

OKANAGAN SUN

Stay the course

This Sun franchise has appeared in the last two Canadian Bowls, both on the road resulting in heartbreaking losses.  They did get a measure of revenge in the CJFL national semi-final game beating the visiting St. Clair Saints, but untimely penalties hurt them tremendously in the national championship in Saskatoon.  Head coach Travis Miller and the rest of the coaching staff don’t need to change their schemes and systems much with all their success they have had in recent years.  Recruiting will be an important part of the offseason filling holes left by some of the talented graduates, but this Sun team continues to be the team to beat in BC. 

WESTSHORE REBELS

Run the ball

Over the past few seasons, the Rebels have been more or less a one-dimensional offensive team throwing the football thanks to some highly skilled and talented quarterbacks, but to have success in the CJFL a team must have a run game.  With all the focus on the pass, the top Rebels rusher had only 355 yards in the regular season while the second leading rusher gathered 231.  In total, the Rebels as a team rushed for 1073 yards. Balancing their potent passing attack with a solid ground game can get the Rebels back to the national stage.

PRINCE GEORGE KODIAKS

Start strong

The BC Conference schedule hasn’t dropped yet, but regardless the upstart Kodiaks need to start the 2026 season on the right foot to build upon their first ever playoff appearance last season.  Things on the offensive side will no doubt be different after the graduation of quarterback Sawyer Thiessen, so whoever is named their starting pivot will need to help set the tone early.  Defensively they should be solid with their returning leadership group who can help steal a game or two.  They need that strong start to stay in the hunt out of the gate in a Conference that expects to be very competitive this season.

VI RAIDERS

Dominate defence

The Raiders surprised several BC teams last season as they got back to the Canadian Bowl playoffs as the fourth seed.  Their defence was fast and fierce last year forcing 32 turnovers and featured players in the secondary that had a knack for the football as they combined for 13 interceptions.  The speed off the line caught the opposition on their heels as All-Canadian Tani Wisdom collected 11 sacks and will be hungry for more in 2026 as he’s set to return.  Both Stirling Henry and BC All-Star Max Shippam were major factors on the defence and will return giving the Raiders a veteran laced group that have learned what it takes to win.  They will be a tough group to move the football against this season.

VALLEY HUSKERS

Improve defence

The Huskers took a slight step backwards in 2025, something head coach Bob Reist will no doubt rectify here in the new year.  Their defence allowed the third most points on average in the Conference, something that fans haven’t seen from the Huskers in several seasons.  They lose the heart and sole of their defence after the graduation of Andy Ofosuhene who will be hard to replace but look for the Huskers to fill his cleats by committee rather than replacing his 47 solo tackles with one player.  They will have some holes to fill, but many around the CJFL expect the Huskers to be a lot better defensively in 2026.

LANGLEY RAMS

Resurgence

For the first time since 1988 the Langley Rams didn’t appear in the Canadian Bowl playoffs in 2025, and they immediately took action hiring Jesse Maddox as their new head coach.  He is currently the head coach of Team Canada’s Senior Men’s team that is making waves on the international stage and will bring a wealth of CJFL knowledge to the Rams along with the talented players that want to play for him.  Look for the Rams to be vastly different in 2026 and will no doubt be in the conversation when talking about favourites to win the BC Conference. 

KAMLOOPS BRONCOS

Find offence

The 2025 season was not a very impressive one for the Broncos particularly on the offensive side averaging just six points per game as they finished without a win.   Many thought the addition of former Regina Thunder quarterback Carter Moberg could ignite their club, but he found it difficult to get the ball down the field and in the hands of their playmakers like receiver Colton Meikle.  He made 26 receptions for 240 yards, often facing the opponent’s top defensive back or double coverage.  The Broncos will need to find the personnel that can make an immediate impact at Hillside Stadium in 2026 as this team is desperate to play at a competitive level along with getting back to the Canadian Bowl playoffs.
 

Photo courtesy of Matthew Hamilton

The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is proud to announce the FIRST-Team All-Canadians for the 2025 season.

Offensive Line
Kaiden Kerntopf – Okanagan Sun (second consecutive season)
Caleb Barajas – Regina Thunder (second consecutive All-Canadian)
Thomas Ta’Avili – St. Clair Saints
Johnny Fazio-Raposo – St. Clair Saints
Jack Erlandson – Saskatoon Hilltops 

Receivers
Cameron St. Kitts Park – St. Clair Saints (second consecutive All-Canadian) - he led the OFC in receptions (56), receiving yards (760) and scored nine touchdowns

Marselio Mendez – St. Clair Saints - he hauled in 30 receptions for 611 yards and led the Conference with 11 touchdowns

Zion Brown – Westshore Rebels - he had a CJFL high 1039 receiving yards on 69 receptions and tied a CJFL record with 18 touchdowns

Jarome Penner – Winnipeg Rifles (pictured) - he led the Conference with 794 receiving yards on 40 receptions and tallied three touchdowns.  He averaged 19.9 yards a catch

Running Backs
Peter Boersch – Regina Thunder – he won the Conference rushing title with 1327 yards on 174 carries and four touchdowns averaging 7.4 yards a carry

David Collins – Saskatoon Hilltops – he carried the rock 126 times for 1028 yards and a Conference high 13 touchdowns, averaging 8.2 yards per carry

Quarterback
Matthew Guenette – St. Clair Saints – set a new record for completing 75.9% of his passes for a Conference high 2299 yards and set a new record with 35 touchdowns for a quarterback efficiency of 163.5%.  

Punter
Teagan Good – Quinte Skyhawks – he booted a Conference high 49 punts, averaging 34.6 yards and tallied a pair of singles

Place Kicker
Shawn Green – Regina Thunder – he led the Conference with 83 points.  He booted a Conference high 17 field goals, knocking through 81% of his kicks.

Defensive Line
Jaylin Burnett – St. Clair Saints (second consecutive season) - he had a Conference high 11 sacks to complement his 28 tackles, 18 assisted stops, forced a fumble, recovered three fumbles, one for a touchdown and made 17.5 tackles for a loss

Johnathon Stevens – Saskatoon Hilltops – (second consecutive All-Canadian) he led the Conference with three sacks, had 11 tackles, 18 assisted stops, had a knockdown, forced and recovered a fumble

JaQuintis Summers – Okanagan Sun – recorded 12 sacks, 17 tackles, 9 assists, forced a recovered a fumble 

Jarveon Williams - Okanagan Sun – he collected 11 sacks, 14 tackles, returned a fumble 55-yards for a touchdown, knocked down four passes and forced a fumble

Linebackers
Kyler Banfield – Winnipeg Rifles - led the Conference with 37 tackles and 26 assisted stops.  He added two sacks, four knockdowns, forced two fumbles, and recovered a pair

Andy Ofosuhene – Valley Huskers - he had a Conference high 47 tackles, added 14 assisted stops, 2 sack, 1 interception and 2 knockdowns

Clay Ritschard – London Beefeaters - he had 39 solo tackles, eight assisted stops, four sacks, intercepted a pass, forced a fumble and recovered two other fumbles

Defensive Backs
Raiden Mastin – Valley Huskers (second consecutive All-Canadian) - he tallied three interceptions returning one for a touchdown, two sacks, 38 tackles, five assisted stops, five knockdowns and forced a fumble

Tariq Brown – Okanagan Sun - led the Conference with seven interceptions, returning two for a touchdown, had 19 tackles, 5 assists, added a sack, 3 knockdowns, forced a fumble and recovered one

Brandon Vecchio – St. Clair Saints - he intercepted four passes and returned three of them for touchdowns, knocked down three passes and made six tackles

Cooper Filazek – Regina Thunder - he had three interceptions, six tackles, and two knockdowns

Teagan Good – Quinte Skyhawks - he had another great season intercepting three passes, blocked three kicks, forced and recovered a fumble, had 20 tackles, assisted on five others and had a knockdown

Return Specialist
Marselio Mendez – St. Clair Saints - he returned 22 kicks during the regular season and averaged 24.8 yards with each return.  He also returned two punts for touchdowns adding to his impressive stats.