The 2017 B.C. Football Conference championship will be a Battle of the Rock as the Vancouver Island Raiders of Nanaimo toppled the Okanagan Sun 15-8 in the second league semifinal on Sunday afternoon in Kelowna.

The Raiders now head to Victoria to face the defending Cullen Cup-champion Westshore Rebels on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Westhills Stadium, which is expected to draw a full house for the rivalry game.

article continues below

On Sunday, the Raiders turned the tables on the Sun, which had allowed the fewest points against during the regular season. The Raiders surrendered just eight points at the Apple Bowl the day after the Rebels thrashed the Langley Rams 57-14 in the first semifinal.

Offensively, quarterback Jake Laberge connected on a pair of touchdown passes to standout all-star receiver Brycen Mayoh and that’s all the scoring the Raiders would require as the defence stood tall in Kelowna.

In two regular season meetings in 2017, the Rebels defeated the Raiders — 27-25 in Nanaimo in Week 2 and 22-17 at home in Week 7 at Westhills, where Westshore is undefeated in two seasons worth of BCFC regular-season and playoff play. The Rebels did lose the Canadian Bowl at home to the Saskatoon Hilltops last season.

Both Westshore victories over the Raiders in 2017 were in come-from-behind fashion. Last year, the Rebels earned a win and a tie over their Island rivals.

“We’re not afraid to say it, we’re coming for a national championship and next week is just another step in the road,” Rebels quarterback Scott Borden Jr. said after Saturday’s semifinal win.

Borden Jr., named the BCFC all-star quarterback, tossed for 12 touchdowns and just four interceptions during the regular-season and added two more TD tosses in the semi-final victory while rushing for another. In comparison, Laberge threw for 17 touchdowns during the regular campaign with nine interceptions.

Of course, the previous statistics will not matter come championship Saturday, and the Cullen Cup victor will then have to travel to the winner of the Prairie Football Conference — either Saskatoon or the Regina Thunder — to advance to nationals in Ontario.

mannicchiarico@timescolonist.com

Twitter.com/tc_vicsports