By Dan Marshall

VI Raiders ready for the task of being road warriors for national semifinal

Oct 26, 2017 | 8:01 PM

NANAIMO — To get to the Canadian Bowl national championship game the VI Raiders will have to go through the three time defending champs.
 
That’s the task at hand for the Cullen Cup winners as they prepare to visit the Saskatoon Hilltops on Sunday.
 
The prospect of going out to the prairies and coming home with a victory is a daunting one, but after upset wins on the road at Okanagan and at Westshore the Raiders are defying the odds on a seemingly weekly basis.
 
VI coach Doug Hocking calls these weekend games out of town ‘business trips’ and his players have bought in to that mentality. 
 
“We’re not walking around telling people how good we are. We take a business like attitude and process to everything we do through practice, how we travel, how we watch film,” said Hocking.

Football players are creatures of habit so the lead up to the game in Saskatoon will be very similar to the way the club has prepared for their previous road games.
 
Tuesday to Friday are the practice days, and then there’s a Saturday flight to Saskatchewan where the Raiders will have a walk through before they get to game day on Sunday.
 
Hocking says the whole trip will be done within 24 hours and although there will be some Raiders family and friends in attendance, the players will spend all of their time together until the job is done.
 
“A lot of guys are going to have their parents there,” Hocking said. “I tell them at the beginning of the week – I’m sorry if you’re not going to get to visit with your family. We’re not there for a long weekend to visit family. It’s a business trip.”
 
Winning the Cullen Cup on the road as the underdog was a memorable moment for the Raiders franchise but the team is not satisfied with just a BC championship.
 
VI is looking to get to the Canadian Bown for the sixth time since 2006 and capture their fourth national title.
 
There’s no pressure on the Raiders and they’ve been able to rise to the occasion in hostile territory before, although the stakes continue to get higher with each passing game.
 
A win on Sunday will pit the Raiders against either Hamilton or Windsor, once again on the road, in the 110th CJFL championship game.
 
The weather forecast is for sun and cloud in Saskatoon on game day with the temperature outlook fluctuating but still almost certainly above the freezing mark.
 
Kickoff between the Raiders and Hilltops is at noon pacific time.
 
 
dan@nanaimonewsnow.com
 
On twitter: @danmarshall77