A handful of days after leading his team to its first victory of the season, Hunter Lake was still dog-gone giddy as he gladly gave a reporter a few minutes of his time.
The Westshore Rebels’ quarterback completed 18 of 28 passes for 317 yards and five — that’s right five — touchdown strikes in a 40-33 win over the Valley Huskers last Saturday in Chilliwack.
The five major scores were still three shy of the organization’s record of eight — established by Nate Cote on Aug. 18, 2007, against the Chilliwack Huskers when the locals were known as the Victoria Rebels — but pretty darn impressive, especially for a guy who wasn’t even tabbed as a quarterback to start the season.
“Things have gone real good. The whole team is jelling into my style of play, if you can call it that,” Lake said of his progression since taking over as the starting QB.
What is his style of play?
“Hectic,” he said with a hearty laugh. “It’s definitely different than what we’re used to.”
Tabbed as a receiver coming into the year, the 19-year-old Richmond product has started to turn some heads and he certainly had the Huskers’ defence looking every which way last weekend.
“My offensive line settled down last game,” said Lake, who stands six-foot-two and weighs 210 pounds, solid size for a quarterback. “I got to be a pocket passer, which is new to me. We did a good job of it and we scored a lot of points.”
Lake connected with Josh Beauchamp and Eric Eggleston for two touchdowns each and also found Emanuel Juma for the other major. Sam Shepherd led the way with a game-high six catches for 90 yards for the Rebels.
“My receivers’ running abilities after the catch was insane. That’s how good they were. I literally threw five-yard passes for 60-yard gains, which certainly looks good on a quarterback,” said Lake, who played fullback and linebacker at Hugh Boyd Secondary in Richmond.
And, no, he has never thrown for five TDs before. In fact he only played QB the last few plays in the championship game in spring ball back home in Tier II juvenile because of injury.
“I came here to be the best receiver I could be. A couple of games in, our quarterbacks went down and they needed someone,” said Lake, who was named BCFC offensive player of the week.
“He is improving each and every practice and he’s able to showcase this on game days,” said Rebels’ offensive co-ordinator and QB coach Silvio Martel. “He has a fantastic attitude and is one of the hardest-working players on the team.
“His athleticism allows him to extend plays and get the ball down field and each week we’ll keep working on his footwork and throwing mechanics to help round out his game.”
The Rebels will have a tougher task today when the 1-4 club faces 4-1 Langley at 4 p.m. at McLeod Stadium.
Langley, the defending BCFC champion, has already defeated Westshore 69-10 and 58-20 this season.
“They’re a different team, a lot more physical. They do a good job coaching and we can’t make mistakes,” said Lake, who seems very composed.
EXTRA POINTS: Juma added 13 carries for 83 yards rushing last weekend. Braden Swatez intercepted two passes to earn defensive player of the week honours. Kicker Michael Peverelle, with two field goals and four converts, was named special teams player of the week.
