Redmen built for playoffs
Email
Print
Letter to Editor
Share
Updated: November 12, 2009 3:26 PM
The Nanaimo Redmen showed all season long their capabilities on the football field. Now comes the true measure of a team – playoffs.
The city’s Vancouver Mainland Football League midget team hosts the White Rock-South Surrey Titans this Sunday (Nov. 15) at May Richards Bennett Pioneer Park.
The Redmen (9-1) are clear favourites over the Titans (4-6). On paper, Nanaimo is superior in all facets of the game and all those facets are in peak form right now.
“We’re doing everything that we need to do,” said Sean Roden, the team’s coach. “The only real hurdles that we have left are mental – we’ve got to believe that we can win the championship.”
What's different this year is the team's offensive prowess. The Redmen scored 38 points per game this season, and they did it with balance. New quarterback Alex Beaudoin handled his transition from defensive back marvellously, but he's also benefited from a vastly improved run game. Roden can't recall having a feature back stay healthy the entire season, but so far, with Jimi Parmar, that's been the case.
"He's a tough runner. He makes guys not want to tackle him," Roden said. "He's a guy that will pound it for eight, 10, 12 yards with regularity and that's enough."
The run game has also been made more dangerous by the emergence of fullback Lukas Miner. The all-star ironman has the kind of football smarts that allow him to lead his tailback through exactly the right gaps.
The defence, of course, will also have a say in Sunday's outcome. Roden said the Titans have some players with big-play capabilities, but as long as the red team breaks up those home-run plays, it should be fine. Very few VMFL teams have been able to move the football effectively against the Redmen, as Nanaimo gave up only 9.5 points per game during the regular season.
"We get to the ball," Roden said. "We're aggressive; we hit hard."
GAME ON … The Redmen and Titans kick off at 2 p.m., not 3 p.m. as previously reported.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
