Last week, Big Kahuna Rams' returner Nick Downey was named the B.C. Football Conference's Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.

And in BCFC semifinals against the Victoria Rebels Saturday afternoon at South Surrey Athletic Park, the elusive runner proved why.

The shifty five-foot-seven Toronto native returned the game's opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and added two punt-return TDs in the second half – the longest a 98-yard scamper – to lead the Rams to a 54-46 win over the visiting Rebels.

By winning the high-scoring affair, the Rams – who were playing their first home playoff game since 2003 – advanced to the Cullen Cup finals, where they'll face the defending national champion Vancouver Island Raiders, who also won their semifinal tilt Saturday.

Downey finished with 173 punt-return yards and 95 more on kick returns, while also adding one 14-yard pass reception.

"It was the Nick Downey show," said Rams coach Chris Butschler, who got his first playoff win as a head coach after nearly two decades of trying.

"He's been that good all year long, really – we've always known it – and sometimes you just end up with a game like this."

The two squads battled to a 25-25 tie through the first half Saturday, but Downey broke the game open in the third quarter with his 98-yard punt return. His third return TD of the game came in the fourth quarter.

"The Rebels made some adjustments in the second half and tried to punt it away from Nick – they tried to kick a few out of bounds – but he still got a couple kicked his way," explained Butschler, who added that he was very impressed with the way the Rebels played.

The Rams defeated Victoria in both regular-season contests, but Butschler said it was tough to set a game plan this time around, considering the Rebels parted ways with its offensive co-ordinator just a week ago, leaving head coach Paul Orazietti to call the plays.

"They really came to play. It was the Victoria team I remember playing against – the kind of team that smacks you right in the mouth and puts you on your ass," Butschler said.

"And with their (co-ordinator) changed, we couldn't look over game film for past tendencies, because there were none. They played a totally different game this time around."

Rebels' quarterback Yannick Rickli – who was named BCFC rookie of the year last week – threw for five touchdowns in the loss, and BCFC all-star running back Sam Adu rushed for 134 yards on 16 carries.

Butschler was not enamoured with his team's rush defence, and with Vancouver Island Raiders' Andrew Harris on the horizon, the veteran coach said his defence will have to get better in that regard.

"It hasn't been good for awhile now, and nobody is happy with where our run defence is right now," he said.

"Stopping the run is a priority for us, but (Vancouver Island) has tons of weapons, so it'll be tough to focus just on that. They're stacked."

Butschler was happy, however, with the play of quarterback Cam Clark in Saturday's victory.

The North Delta resident threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns – both to wideout Justene Edwards, who finished with five catches for 136 yards.

Most impressive, Butschler said, was his ability to read the Victoria defence and change the play, accordingly.

"Cam played very good, and at the end, he really controlled the game for us," said Butschler.

"We give Cam a lot of freedom out there to (change the play), and he works very well with (offensive co-ordinator) Tom MacDonald. Our last touchdown was one of his audibles, actually."

In addition to his two TD tosses, Clark also ran for one score.

Running back Errol Brooks broke the 100-yard mark Saturday, finishing with 105 yards on the ground to lead the team.

The win meant a lot to Butschler on a personal level, as well. The playoff victory was his first as a head coach after nearly two decades on the sideline. He'd won post-season contests as an assistant coach before, but never as the head man.

Butschler coached the Rams from 1998 until 2004, but took a year off from coaching during the team's 2005 championship run. He returned to the Rams' sidelines in 2006, replacing Jeff Lochbaum, who was fired one game into the season.

"It feels really good. It's been a long time," he said.

The Cullen Cup is scheduled for Saturday at Caledonia Park in Nanaimo. The Rams will be looking for a much better result than they got during their last trip to Nanaimo, which was a 64-0 thrashing.

"I don't know if we're looking for revenge, so to speak, but we'd definitely like to play well enough to get some of our credibility back," Butschler said.

- Nick Greenizan