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Ravens will need to fill holes

Now that the smoke has cleared, the head coach of the Terry Fox Ravens senior football team can see what he has to work with.

Now that the smoke has cleared, the head coach of the Terry Fox Ravens senior football team can see what he has to work with.

And it’s not as much as he had last year, said Martin McDonnell after his charges had to spend much of their first week of practices indoors because of the poor air quality due to wildfires elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest before finally getting some fresh air and field time last week. 

Some players who were key to last year’s oh-so-close brush with a second consecutive Subway Bowl provincial championship have moved on.

Most notable is the Ravens’ “Mr. Everything,” Jevaun Jacobsen. The Grade 11 quarterback, running back, defensive back and kick returner, who propelled the team to within a second of another provincial title at BC Place last November, moved to Florida.

Jacobsen’s understudy at the pivot position, Stuart Phillips, who led the Junior Varsity team and stepped up to play for the Seniors as well, is also gone, to concentrate on lacrosse.

So McDonnell is looking to receiver Matt Lew-Henrickson to step into a new role, throwing the ball instead of catching it. Early indications are he’s an eager learner and quick study.

“He’s really doing well,” McDonnell said, adding Lew-Henrickson has been attending clinics and went to a quarterback camp at the University of British Columbia to prepare for his new responsibilities.

And while the unexpected holes in his lineup may have McDonnell scrambling a bit, he said the Ravens have the talent to be a force that could still exceed its second-place ranking in the pre-season poll conducted by coaches across the province, just a point behind top-ranked Lord Tweedsmuir, from Surrey.

“We’re certainly not poverty-stricken,” McDonnell said. “We’re just looking right now to see who’s going to step up and be a leader.”

Running backs Cade Cote and Jaden Severy are back and ready to charge through defensive lines with their speed and strength.

“If we can get the kids the ball, we can definitely make the plays,” McDonnell said.

And returning veteran linemen like Matthew Hewa Baddege, Mike Evans and Layth Begg will present a formidable barrier to opposing offences.

McDonnell said the stunning way the Ravens lost last year’s Subway Bowl, when the New Westminster Hyacks scored a touchdown and then added a two-point conversion on the last play of the game to win, 15-14, has made this year’s team hungry for redemption.

“It gives us a bit of motivation to get back to the dance,” he said.

But the bigger lesson learned from last season is the way the team overcame some struggles and adversity earlier in the campaign to jell when it mattered most.

“We proved last year you can do it other ways,” McDonnell said. “You just have to come together and stick together.”

That jelling started last Friday, when the Ravens travelled to Concrete, Wa. for an exhibition game against the Concrete High School Lions. Terry Fox won, 52-7, but McDonnell said the score wasn’t as important as the process.

“It’s not about winning,” he said. “It’s about are they ready to compete. They’ve got to be tough.”

Friday, the Ravens will get their first test against homegrown competition when the team travels to Abbotsford for a conference exhibition game against the Abbotsford Panthers.

Centaurs seek success

After going winless in seven games and giving up the most points — 390 — of all AAA teams in British Columbia, the goal for the Centennial Centaurs is much more modest.

“The definite goal is to get better each and every week,” said the team’s head coach of four seasons, Eric Taylor.

If they succeed, the Centaurs might even entertain notions of returning to the playoffs as they last did two years ago.

But it’s going to be a big ask, Taylor said. Especially with the graduation of defensive end Max Kennedy.

“He was a tremendous athlete in all aspects,” said Taylor of the former provincial all-star who’s moved on to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

But rather than look to replace Kennedy, Taylor said he wants everyone on the team to step up their game “and be their very best selves.”

Wide receivers Domenic Macri and Keiran Little have the speed and athleticism to break open a game on the outside, Taylor said, while linemen Taha Mojazza, Anthony Bassetto and Mason Berto will be creating holes on offence as well as anchoring a defence that has nowhere else to go but up.

Taylor said he’ll also be looking to running back, linebacker and tight end Uriah Hestadalen to take a bigger leadership role now that he’s in his senior year.

“The improvement of the overall team, from week to week, will tell me all I need to know,” Taylor said. His first chance to measure that improvement will come Friday afternoon, when the Centaurs play Ballenas.