The 2021 season ended with the Comox Valley Raiders midget football team on the three-yard line, one good push from forcing overtime in the B.C. championship.
An off-season of hard work and the addition of a dozen freshmen have set the table for another potentially strong team in 2022. At the mid-point of the league鈥檚 10-game regular season, the hard-hitting defence has yielded an eye popping six points. Seniors Ashton Lepard and Hudson 鈥榣efty鈥� Belanger have wreaked havoc in the opponents backfield. Offence has capitalized on a typically short field, due in part to the stingy defence and an amazing punt return specialist, Matteo Godbout. Team speed puts teams faced to date in deficit.
The depth at receiver and O line skill has allowed quarterback Morgan Crisp to take advantage of the sure hands of the speedy slot duo of Sebastian Lambert and Roman Poje, each with 10 or more trips to the end zone. Raiders back that with a solid run game led by Kaiden Jacques and a quick aggressive trio of offensive linemen. Rookie running back David Martinez has averaged more than 30 yards per carry and will soon be on a few scouts鈥� radar.
The Raiders look forward to translating their 5-0 record into a provincial playoff berth. The road ahead shows some talented teams looming, but head coach Jay Daniels has the team focusing on getting the next defensive stop and earning the next first down only.
