This Bull was a Bulldog and is about to become a Bulldog of a different kind.
Belmont Secondary Bulldogs graduate Dontae Bull, committed to NCAA Div. 1 next season with the Fresno State Bulldogs, will make his first start at right tackle for Westshore when the Rebels (3-1) meet the Fraser Valley Huskers (0-4) in a B.C. Football Conference game today at 3 p.m. at Westhills Stadium.
This is a Westshore offensive line that ripped open gaping holes to allow running back Trey Campbell to return from injury and carry for 150 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s Westshore victory over the Langley Rams. Campbell also made five catches for 115 yards (one for a TD) to pick up 265 all-purpose yards.
Tyrese Hogue out of Mount Douglas Secondary, another true freshman who was a B.C. high school all-star last season with Bull, will move from right tackle to centre to give more depth and potency to a Rebels offensive line that is already the best in the BCFC.
The six-foot-seven, 305-pound Bull had some paperwork to deal with before he heads to Fresno State in January, Rebels head coach Charly Cardilicchia said.
“We are so happy to have him. Dontae Bull has pro potential — and I mean south-of-the-border pro potential [in the NFL],” he said. “He is long and he can move his feet.”
The Rebels’ defensive line isn’t too shabby, either. Cardilicchia describes it as: “Big, athletic and nasty.”
“They have been in every opposition quarterback’s head, and in his kitchen,” he added.
Meanwhile, Cardilicchia said focus will not be an issue for his overwhelmingly favoured team today against a winless Huskers squad.
“We approach it like any other week. We are here to take care of business,” he said.
“Penalties have been an issue for us and we want to continue cleaning that up. I don’t mind the effort penalties, but we want to continue cleaning up our after-the-whistle penalties, and we have been making progress in the past few weeks.”
Cardilicchia and Valley Huskers head coach Bob Reist have a history together.
It goes back to when Cardilicchia was an undersized but nervy receiver on the Victoria junior BCFC teams that preceded the Rebels. Reist was an all-Canadian safety and the BCFC outstanding defensive back with the Abbotsford Air Force in the early 2000s.
“[Reist] got some big hits on me, but I always held on to the ball,” Cardilicchia said with a chuckle.
“After the catch, I would always tuck the ball into his stomach.”
Reist and Cardilicchia went on to become teammates in U Sports with the powerhouse University of Manitoba Bisons football program of the time, with Reist captaining the Bisons for three seasons, winning a Vanier Cup national title and being named overall Bisons top male athlete.
“Football is a fantastic family,” Cardilicchia said.
Meanwhile, there is a marquee BCFC game today at Caledonia Park in Nanaimo at 2 p.m., as the undefeated and league-leading Okanagan Sun (4-0) take on the Vancouver Island Raiders (3-1).
