No one knew quite what to expect when the Crew and the Ravens met in the 2015 Cowichan Women's Football League championship game at McAdam Park last Saturday.
The teams hadn't faced each other in more than a year. They had been scheduled to meet in the 2014 final, but the Ravens had to forfeit when they couldn't field enough players. They also had a pair of meetings slated for this season, but the same thing happened: the first time, the Ravens forfeited, and the second time, it was the Crew.
When they finally did meet last Saturday, the Crew defended their CWFL championship with a 26-7 victory.
Marilou Sullivan led the Crew with a pair of touchdowns, including one on a 50-yard interception return. She also had a convert and finished the game with a pair of interceptions. Kerynne Bain scored the Crew's first touchdown, using her towering height to pull down a pass from quarterback Jennie Hittinger, while Jessica Lines-Wikkerink and Nicole Pugh also had single touchdowns. Lines-Wikkerink added a pair of converts and Pugh had one, while Alita Mattin had an interception.
Emily Williams replied with the lone touchdown for the Ravens, while Jamie Russell had three sacks and a convert, and Rikki Wylie added a pair of interceptions.
The Crew advanced to the final by knocking off the Blue Steel Brew 31-19 on the previous Wednesday. Sullivan had two touchdowns in that game as well, including one that came on one of her two interceptions. Lines-Wikkerink also scored twice, Pugh had one touchdown, and Willy Toews had a convert.
The other semifinal saw the Ravens defeat the Law 40-19. Wylie had two touchdowns and an interception for the Ravens, Russell had a touchdown, a convert and a sack, Dana Thorne finished with a touchdown, a convert and a rouge, Veronica Smith and Morgan Rogers each had one touchdown, Kim Garside had an interception and a convert, and Emily Salmon had an interception. The Law got their touchdowns from Nicki Flynn, Rachel Hastings and Leanne Closson, with Flynn adding an interception and
Hastings contributing a sack.
At the CWFL awards banquet that night, Pugh was named league MVP, and Caitlin Evans of the Storm was named Rookie of the Year.
All seven CWFL teams will compete in Sun Bowl XXX, the Pacific Northwest Women's Football Championships, this weekend. They will be joined by the three-time champion Texas Adrenaline and Sun Bowl newcomers Team Mexico, along with last year's winners, the Vancouver Chargers. Also competing are the Xtreme, Swarm, Dragons and Chaos out of Victoria, and the Panthers, Sirens, Crew, Ravens, Pink Panthers, Socialites and Blowfish from Vancouver.
Games start at 6 p.m. on Friday and run Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 7 a.m. until the finals at 4 and 5 p.m.