Rebels dealt a blow by Rams
He was back to snooping around the Island.
Matt (Snoop) Blokker, the winningest coach in B.C. Football Conference history and second winningest in Canadian junior football history, made a triumphant return with his 110th career victory.
Blokker’s Langley Rams (4-3) defeated the defending regularseason champion Westshore Rebels (3-3-1) by a 27-3 count in a comprehensive BCFC victory on Saturday at Westhills Stadium.
“The top-five teams are within two points of each other, so this is a huge game,” said Blokker, before the contest.
“There’s a lot of parity in this league.”
There was never much of that back when Blokker guided the Vancouver Island Raiders to seven BCFC championships, and three Canadian Bowl national titles, in eight seasons from 2006 to 2013.
“We did some amazing things,” Blokker said.
The VI Raiders championship era was fuelled by the uncanny running of Andrew Harris, who this season become only the second Canadian running-back after Normie Kwong, and 12th player in CFL history, to rush for 7,000 career yards.
In coaching, however, you are always in the present, noted Blokker, whose aim now is to build “the Rams into a contender the same way I turned Calgary around.”
Blokker went to Calgary to build up the 2013 winless Colts and led them to the PFC championship game during all three seasons he coached in the Alberta city.
Landing in Langley has been a tentative success so far as Blokker looks to bring the Rams up to the level of the defending league champion VI Raiders and 2016 champion Rebels.
Blokker was named BCFC coach of the year four times and the Canadian junior football coach of the year twice in 2006 and 2013. He has 110 career regular-season wins and 26 playoff victories. No other BCFC coaches come close to that.
Blokker began his headcoaching career by taking the Victoria Rebels to the BCFC Cullen Cup championship and Canadian Bowl championship game in 2003 before moving with the franchise to Nanaimo when it became the VI Raiders in 2004.
“The Island is special for me, there’s no doubt about that,” said Blokker.
It was even more special after Saturday, but for different reasons, as Blokker’s Rams avenged the 19-16 opening-week loss to the Rebels in Langley.
In other BCFC games on Saturday, both in progress at press time, the VI Raiders (4-2) were visiting the lowly Broncos (0-6) in Kamloops and Fraser Valley Huskers (4-2) were in Kelowna playing the Okanagan Sun (3-2-1).
The Rebels are in Chilliwack next Saturday to take on the Valley Huskers in another key contest.