FCC2018 PREVIEW: BRITISH COLUMBIA

British Columbia impressed in their debut in last year’s tournament as the team finished fifth.

 “We were the new kids on the block last year and we actually had to come in and had to play the powerhouse Quebec,” Head Coach Cory Philpot recalled.  “Quebec has always been a powerhouse as I have been told over the years.”

“It was an eyeopener but we came in prepared and we were ready to go.  This year, we are definitely prepared. We have gotten our players together. I think our province of British Columbia are now on board and all the kids have bought into how great this is and Football Canada is putting on a great tournament.  We have a lot of great talented kids coming in.  We are a lot better than we were last year.”

For the 2018 Football Canada Cup tournament in Calgary, Alberta, the goal is different for British Columbia.

“We’re coming in to compete,” Philpot explained.  “Our goal is to bring the gold home, but we are still going to come in there and have some fun; we’re going to have a great time and make sure our kids represent BC very well.”

This year’s version of Team British Columbia is stocked with an abundance of talent and they hope to use that weapon to succeed in the tournament.

Offensively, the quarterback duo for Trey Jones and Thomas Hyett will be tasked with spearheading the game plan execution.

“They definitely have different styles,” Philipot described of the pivots.  “Trey is a left-handed quarterback; he can run and he reminds me of Michael Vick because he reads very well.”

“Thomas is a very tall kid; he sits in the pocket and he makes some decent reads.  I think we’re going to have two great quarterbacks coming in to lead us on.”

Last year, British Columbia’s offence had a great running attack and passing game.  For the 2018 tournament, Philpot said their receiving core of seven players are going to make things happen when they get the ball. Returning receiver Keelan White as well as Yosef Drysdale and Jaden Simon highlights this group.

British Columbia’s offensive line is big in size and has a combination of three returning and four rookies on that unit.

On the defensive side, the team has vastly improved from the previous year.  The entire linebacking core is returning and will be led by Cameron Mah.  As for the secondary,  the team will look to Connor Way and Jerrell Cummings tor use their experience and leadership in steering the team for success at the tournament.

The team will begin their tournament play on Monday July 16, 2018 at 7:30pm when they tackle host Alberta.

“They are a great bunch of guys and they have been coached very well,” Philpot said of their opponent.  “We have been preparing ourselves watching a lot of film from last year watching them play Quebec; we have also been watching the U16 kids that they have coming up that played last year.”

“At the end of the day, we have done a lot of homework, we know we are coming in to face another big crowd and another home team.  It’s going to be another big challenge for us but we’re going to come in prepared.”

TEAM BRITISH COLUMBIA

2017 RESULT: defeated Nova Scotia 24-10 to finish in fifth place

HEAD COACH: Cory Philpot – 2^nd year

NUMBER OF RETURNING PLAYERS: 12

PLAYERS TO WATCH: 

This post is also available in: French