Veteran Rifles open with victory

THE Winnipeg Rifles hope another year of seasoning will help a veteran group cook up a monumental campaign.

And if the first contest in the Rifles’ eight-game Canadian Junior Football League schedule was any indication, perhaps the club has found the recipe it needs to build on its 5-4 record that ended in the semifinal last season.

The Rifles opened 2023 as the No. 10 team in the country but are sure to see a jump in their ranking after knocking off the No. 5 Edmonton Huskies 20-16 on the road Sunday. An encouraging debut to the season it was, indeed, as the final score suggested a much closer affair than what played out.

“We’re a veteran team,” said head coach Geordie Wilson, who began his seventh year at the helm. “You can’t buy experience and I do think that’s our biggest attribute.

“We have a core group of guys that have really grown into leadership capacities, and the other thing that’s interesting is there’s more guys that I would classify as leaders than we have followers on the team because so many of them have been around a long time.”

The Rifles will look to make an even greater statement when the ever-challenging Saskatoon Hilltops roll into town on Sunday (1 p.m.).

The Rifles return all 12 starters to their defence in 2023, headlined by fifth-year linebacker Brandon Kamenz, who checked in at No. 23 on the CJFL’s top 50 projected players entering this season, and defensive back Kyle Chorney, also in his fifth season.

Kamenz is the heart and soul of a defensive unit that boasted a plus-10 turnover margin and 10 fumble recoveries in 2022, both of which led the Prairie Conference. With the offensive unit expected to need some time to reach its full potential, Kamenz said the bruising defence has embraced the pressure of being the backbone of the team.

“As a defence, we do know that and our coaches have told us we always need to be ready,” said Kamenz. “We have that in the back of our heads and we put that pressure on ourselves every week so that we can make that when it does come to game time we’re putting our best foot forward so we can keep up.

“You can notice the (experience) on the field. There’s a lot more knowledge out there together and you can feel it while we’re playing and it’s just a great thing because then it just opens up the playbook that much more on our side of the ball. Just allows us to go out there, have more fun and make some plays.”

The offence, meanwhile, returns six starters, including third-year quarterback Thomas Hubbard, who was thrust into his first career start in a snowy semi-final matchup against the undefeated Regina Thunder last year after Bryson McNeil suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the regular season finale.

The Rifles lost despite a valiant effort, but it also gave Hubbard valuable experience that he’s leaning on going into his first full season as the starting pivot.

“That game, the most I took away was preparation, just to make sure you’re prepared, be ready,” said Hubbard. “I was kind of thrown in there and only had a week to prepare. Definitely could’ve done a couple of things better, made a couple of better reads, but (to) jumpstart into the league, especially in the playoffs, just knowing how you have to play and at the level you have to play, that was the biggest eye-opener for me.

“The main difference (this year) is the atmosphere, the attitude and the energy,” he continued. “Everybody is ready to practise, everybody has a common goal to become 1-0 by the end of every week. So the fact that we all have that common goal and everybody knows exactly what needs to be done, it kind of helps us thrive and reach our goal.”

While the Rifles have fielded a pass-happy offence since Wilson took over — largely due to the team’s inability to generate an effective run game — a more balanced approach may be in the cards this season with running back Kaiden Banfield in the fold.

Banfield, who went to Portage Collegiate before playing with the Okanagan Sun in 2022, returned home this offseason and will be the feature back at many points for the Rifles this year. He could be the piece to the puzzle that’s eluded Wilson for much of his tenure.

“He’s a pretty special athlete, he’s a good runner. He has a chance to be a special player,” said Wilson of the 6-3 200-pound back. “We just couldn’t run the ball with any success over the last few years and (Sunday) we rushed the ball for more than we threw.

“For us this year, if we can run the ball, we have as good a chance as any team in our conference to win.”

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Twitter: @jfreysam