By Dan Marshall

BC High School Football season begins in the mid-island

Sep 23, 2016 | 6:12 AM

NANAIMO — The BC High School Football season begins on Friday with a strong mid-island presence in the AA Varsity Division.

John Barsby, NDSS, and Ballenas will play out of the Western Conference and all three teams are in action on opening day.

Barsby is the team with the highest expectation this season after being third on a preseason list put out by the Vancouver Province.

Coach Rob Stevenson isn’t concerned about the rankings, preferring to keep his mind set on getting better day by day.

“The expectation for the team this is year is to get better each practice, each day, each week, and find a rhythm,” said Stevenson.

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The Bulldogs playoff run was cut short in the quarterfinals in 2015, but Stevenson guided teams to provincial titles in 2013 and 2014.

So does the coach talk about the word ‘championship’ throughout the upcoming season?

“Everybody thinks about taking it as far as they can take it. The very first day we use the word championship once and after that it’s a game we don’t talk about.

We do try to be in the now and that mean’s the most important practice we have is today’s practice. After that it’s the next day’s practice and then it’s the opponent that week and we try to stay focused on that. Then the W’s start to take care of themselves,” said Stevenson.

The Nanaimo District Secondary Islanders went 2-0 in their preseason and coach Nate Stevenson is optimistic about the start, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

“I’m proud of our defense so far, there’s still some breakdowns but I think right now they’re leading the team. Offensively, our offense is a little bit complicated so it’s taken a bit of time to mesh things together,” said Stevenson.

Stevenson says the Western Conference is tough with teams like Barsby and Ballenas but his goal is to make the playoffs.

“You hope the other guys are targeting each other and we creep into the game. You always hope that’s the case but there’s some good coaching staffs out there and they always preach don’t overlook who you’re playing this week,” said Stevenson.

On Friday NDSS opens at home against Hugh Boyd at 4 p.m.and the other two teams in the mid-island play each other with Ballenas visiting John Barsby at 7 p.m.

Weekend Scoreboard:

BCHL

Nanaimo Clippers vs Vernon – Friday 1pm (BCHL Showcase)

Nanaimo Clippers vs Salmon Arm – Saturday 10am (BCHL Showcase)

VIJHL

Oceanside Generals @ Campbell River – Friday 7:30 p.m. (Rod Brind’Amour Arena)

Nanaimo Buccaneers @ Kerry Park – Saturday 7:30 p.m. (Kerry Park Arena)

BCFC

VI Raiders vs Okanagan – Saturday 2 p.m. (Caledonia Park)

PACWEST

VIU Men’s and Women’s Soccer vs Douglas College – Saturday 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. (Merle Logan Field)

VIU Men’s and Women’s Soccer vs Langara – Sunday 12 p.m, 2:30 p.m. (Merle Logan Field)

PACWEST Golf Invitational – Saturday and Sunday (Westwood Plateau)

VIU Men’s Volleyball Exhibition Tournament – Friday and Saturday (VIU)

VIU Men’s Basketball vs Alumni – Saturday (VIU)