The Ravens won their second Cowichan Women’s Football League championship in three years with a 32-14 victory over the Blue Steel Brew on June 8.
There was some concern earlier in the day that the Ravens might not be able to field a team, but they managed to scrape together a roster and it paid off.
“We as usual struggled to get enough with two on holidays and one getting injured to the point of not being able to play on Wednesday and Friday,” said the Ravens’ Dana Thorne, who was among those unavailable for the final. “BSB is a very athletic team and we couldn’t just mess around. We had two injured players who sucked it up to make the team a go. I cannot just name one or two for their efforts, everyone was on the same page. Flag is a fun game with the need for athleticism and smarts, our team is blessed with both.”
It wasn’t unusual for the Ravens to play full games shorthanded this spring.
“The season was shaky with a small bench all year,” quarterback Rikki Wylie commented. “The previous game against BSB we played shorthanded so it was nice to play them again on an even playing field. Cheers to the season and hoping all the best for the next.”
Wylie led the way with two touchdowns and an interception for the Ravens in the final. Lauren James had a touchdown and a sack, and Autumn Cooper and Nikita Kitagawa also scored. Brittany Williams had a convert, Becky Patterson had a sack and Carolyn Gudmundseth had an interception.
Heidi Haslam and Shelby Wilcox answered with touchdowns for BSB. Wilcox also had two converts, Haslam registered an interception, and Michaela Peet had two sacks.
As regular-season champs, BSB had a bye straight to the final, while the Ravens got by the Crew 34-19 in the semifinal. Lonnie-Lee Peters scored three touchdowns in the semi, while Cooper and Gudmundseth each had one touchdown and one convert. Williams added two converts and two interceptions, and James had a sack.
Haslam was named league MVP at the awards banquet the night after the final, and Emma Dewit of the Law was named Rookie of the Year.
Other awards:
Best Defence: Haslam (BSB), Williams (Ravens), Leanne Closson (Law), Jeannine Gaudreau (Wild), Wilhelmina Toews (Crew), Chelsea Morton (Storm)
Best Offense: Haslam (BSB), Wylie (Ravens), Wendy Charles (Law), Dewit (Wild), Kerynne Bain (Crew), Caitlyn Erickson (Storm)
Most Sportsmanlike: Peet (BSB), Becky Patterson (Ravens), Charles (Law), Keri McKelvie (Wild), Nenagh McCulloch (Crew), Morton (Storm)
Most Inspirational: Peet (BSB), Gudmundseth (Ravens), Jaimie Olson (Law), Val Chambers (Wild), Darbi Aitchison (Crew), Lacey Mohun-Smith (Storm)
Most of the CWFL teams will be taking part in Sun Bowl this weekend, including the Crew, Law, Wild and Storm (playing as the Swat), and many of the Ravens will be playing for the Shehawks, one of four Victoria teams in the mix, along with four Vancouver teams and the Texas Adrenaline, who have won four Sun Bowl titles but were absent in 2017.
“It’s a pretty wide-open field except for Top Flight which will most certainly include Texas Adrenaline,” Sun Bowl organizer Chris Mann said. “Many teams are in rebuilding years so the level of play has been unpredictable; on any given Sunday you never know what will happen.”
This year’s Sun Bowl will include a men’s game at 2 p.m. on Sunday just before the finals begin.