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Ravens, Crew and BSB are last teams standing in CWFL playoffs

It takes a lot to upstage the Cowichan Women’s Football League playoffs.
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Crew rookie Sasha Visona flags Storm quarterback Kristen Labao with some help from teammate Nenagh McCulloch during a helicopter-delayed CWFL quarter-final match at McAdam Park on Sunday. (Kevin Rothbauer/Citizen)

It takes a lot to upstage the Cowichan Women’s Football League playoffs.

Something like, say, a helicopter landing on the field during a game.

That’s exactly what happened on Sunday in the middle of the quarter-final showdown between the Ravens and the Wild. A BC Ambulance Service chopper had to set down at McAdam Park, the biggest open surface near the Parkland Place apartment complex, where a fire chased out residents and sent 13 people to hospital.

The teams managed to finish their game after the helicopter landed, and the Ravens walked away with a 70-0 victory. Brittany Williams and Jamie Russell each scored three touchdowns, Autumn Cooper and Carolyn Gudmundseth had two apiece — including a pick-six for Gudmundseth — and Dana Thorne and Becky Paterson also scored. Nikita Kitagawa had two interceptions, and Williams, Thorne and Cooper had one each, and Russell, Paterson, Kitagawa and Rikki Wylie added converts.

The Startline Health and Wellness Crew and Winter Trucking Storm had the start of their quarterfinal game delayed by the takeoff of the helicopter — which wasn’t carrying any patients when it departed. When the game finally started, it was a fairly even contest, but the Crew gradually pulled away for a 27-7 victory.

Sarah Jones, Kerynne Bain, Jess Lines and Wilhelmina Toews each had a touchdown for the Crew. Jones also recorded a convert and an interception, Bain and Lines each had a convert, and Nenagh McCulloch registered a sack. The Storm got their touchdown from quarterback Kristen Labao, who also punted into the end zone for a single point that tied the score at 7-7 early in the second half. Lacey Mahon-Smith led the Storm defence with two sacks.

The other scheduled quarterfinal between Blue Steel Brew and Moo’s Law was forfeited by the Law, who couldn’t field enough players. As a result, the Ravens and Crew will play in Wednesday’s semifinal, and the winner of that game will face BSB in the final at 7 p.m. on Friday.

The regular season wrapped up with a pair of games last Friday evening. BSB defeated the Law to close out the season with nine wins and a tie, just ahead of the 8-1-1 Ravens for first place in the final standings, and the Crew beat the Wild 58-0.

Sasha Visona had three touchdowns for the Crew, including a pick-six, and two interceptions, while Jones added two touchdowns, two converts and two picks. Other touchdowns came from Toews, Lines, McCulloch and Kathleen Owens. Lines and Owens also had converts, and Jackie Harrison had an interception. Rebecca Oliver recorded a sack for the Wild.



Kevin Rothbauer

About the Author: Kevin Rothbauer

Kevin Rothbauer is the sports reporter for the Cowichan Valley Citizen
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