For the third year running, there will be a Prince George presence at the Canadian Bowl.
Jordan Botel, Mike McMaster, Erling Skuggedal, Wes Black and the rest of the Vancouver Island Raiders took care of that on Saturday and will play for their third-straight national title when they play the Saskatoon Hilltops for the Canadian Junior Football League championship in Saskatoon.
Botel, the Raiders 21-year-old running back, rushed for 143 yards on 21 carries and scored one touchdown as the Raiders downed the Hamilton Hurricanes 38-13 in the Intergold Cup national semifinal Saturday in Nanaimo.
"That was sloppy and ugly, but you're going to the national championship," Raiders head coach Matt Blokker told his players as the post-game celebration went on Saturday at Caledonia Park in Nanaimo.
Blokker, a native of Prince George, said the Hurricanes lacked emotion and his own players did not show the level of intensity that helped the Raiders win their fifth consecutive B.C. Junior Football Conference championship in six years of existence.
"Hamilton wasn't very good and I thought we dominated the game, but offensively in the red zone we just didn't finish," Blokker said.
See Tuesday's Citizen for more.
