Rams' season ends one touchdown short in the Cullen Cup
Westshore 35, Langley 28 in the rain at McLeod on Saturday. After a 2-7-1 year, a 10-2 season and two home playoff games is a turnaround worth noting.
Tied after the first quarter, tied after the second, tied after the third, and then, with about two minutes left on a soaked McLeod Athletic Park field on Saturday afternoon, the Westshore Rebels scored and the Langley Rams did not. Final: 35-28. The two teams put up 1,170 yards of offence between them, which the Advance Times heard one observer call a “highlight reel offensive game,” and it was the second time this year Westshore beat Langley; their 46-24 win on September 19 was the Rams’ only regular-season loss.
So the Cullen Cup, the BC Football Conference championship, goes to the Island, and the Rebels host Regina Thunder in the national Canadian Bowl on Sunday, November 8 at Starlight Stadium in Langford.
Here is why Langley should still be pleased. A year ago the Rams finished 2-7-1, sixth in the conference, and missed the playoffs. The club brought in a new head coach, Kye Todhunter, and a new starting quarterback, and went 9-1 in the regular season, including a 79-0 win over Kamloops in the last game. They earned the top seed, beat the VI Raiders 27-16 at home in the semifinal on October 17 with their backup quarterback filling in for the injured starter, and hosted the final. Ten wins and two losses, two home playoff games, and the owner telling the paper the club is “extremely proud” of the season and intends to build on it.
The Rams play junior football in the seven-team BC Football Conference, at McLeod Stadium on 56 Avenue at 216 Street; this year’s schedule ran from mid-July to the end of October. Our Langley Rams page has how to follow them and where tickets come from when next season’s schedule is out.