The Westshore Rebels are heading back to familiar territory, the Cullen Cup final.
Westshore beat the Prince George Kodiaks 45-28 on Oct. 11 at Starlight Stadium, earning their fourth straight appearance in the British Columbia Football conference (BCFC) championship game.
The win sets up another familiar showdown with the Okanagan Sun, with kickoff set for Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. at Kelowna’s Apple Bowl.
It didn’t come easy.
The teams were tied 14-14 at halftime before the Rebels broke it open in the third quarter, scoring two quick touchdowns and taking control on both sides of the ball.
“Prince George came out ready to play, which we expected,” head coach Connor Bryan told the Goldstream Gazette. “I think our guys did a really good job of not getting overwhelmed going into halftime. The offence came out firing, the defence came out explosive, and we took it away in the second half.”
Bryan said his halftime message was simple.
“There’s a reason these guys are in this game, they’re a good football team,” he said. “We just had to keep playing our brand of football, and everything would fall into place.”
Running back Carter Williams helped spark the second-half surge and was named BCFC Offensive Player of the Week, rushing for 146 yards and tallying three touchdowns.
“It’s fantastic to see Carter healthy again,” Bryan said. “He’s a game changer, the kind of kid who can take a power play anywhere on the field to the house. Having a dynamic running game to go with our passing game makes our offence that much more dangerous.”
Quarterback Gavin Session and receiver Zion Brown helped lead the way offensively.
Session threw for 277 yards, with three touchdowns, with Brown bringing in 69 of those yards.
Both were named BCFC all-stars, along with teammates Manny Fotiou (defensive line), Cameron Coan (defensive back), and Marino Dujela (offensive line).
“They get better every week,” Bryan said of Session and Brown. “Defences respect Zion so much that they try to double or triple cover him, which opens things up for other guys like Carter Williams and Jeremiah Beck.”
Session threw for 2,806 yards and 28 touchdowns this season with a 67.6 per cent completion rate, while Brown finished with 1,039 yards and 18 touchdown receptions.
This year’s Cullen Cup final will be the fourth straight meeting between Westshore and Okanagan.
In 2022, the Sun claimed the title with a 38-0 victory. The Rebels won in 2023, 33-19, while the Sun edged them 23-17 in 2024. Okanagan also won both regular-season meetings this year, 43-39 on Aug. 9 and 37-24 on Sept. 13.
“I really like our position coming into this game,” Bryan said. “Being in that underdog spot takes the pressure off us. All the pressure’s on Okanagan to seal the win.”
The Sun earned their ticket to the final with a 43-12 victory over the VI Raiders.
The winner will host the national semifinal on Oct. 25 or 26 against the champion from the Ontario Conference, featuring the Hamilton Hurricanes and St. Clair Saints.
