http://www.bluebombers.com/2016/08/21/ritchott-fires-for-rifles/

Had him self a heck of a game. Hats off to him. 

Part of a plan for Walters when he took over was to recruit guys to play for the Rifles so they could start getting some territorial exemption players.

4 hours ago, Blueandgold said:

Who's that? The rookie from last year, Jamel Lyles went back to BC to play juniors. 

Jamel Lyles is playing for the Westshore Rebels in Victoria. My son is the qb coach for that team. (Gotta get a plug in for that). Lyles is the best running back in the BCFC.

19 minutes ago, Jpan85 said:

Part of a plan for Walters when he took over was to recruit guys to play for the Rifles so they could start getting some territorial exemption players.

It's a nice idea in theory but in actuality...

5 hours ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Can only assume why he's not a Bison, by his own choice or not.  Had a big year, thinks he can play NCAA, like big time NCAA, but the U of M was the only school he could get into, a school pretty much anyone with a high school diploma can get into.  He was recruited by a ton of schools on both sides of the border but had to play midget as a 17-18 year old because of academics.

Now he's back playing junior in BC and has been listed on at least two rosters to this point.  Last I heard he wasn't actually playing anywhere yet.

Dude, as I said 2 messages above he's the starting running back for the Westshore Rebels. He's the leading rusher in the BCFC. Here are his stats before Saturday's game... Click on rushing.

http://www.cjfl.org/stats/division_instance/188582?subseason=300046&tab=division_instance_player_stats&tool=1898346http://www.cjfl.org/stats/division_instance/188582?subseason=300046&tab=division_instance_player_stats&tool=1898346

 

Edited August 22, 20169 yr by iso_55

Richott  from the Rifles is currently eligible to be a territorial protected player for the Bombers.   He attended the Bomber rookie camp this past year, and is very much on the Bombers radar.   He's not only a great player, but he is also a great character/leader/lockeroom guy.   I'm certain that the Bombers will invite him back to camp next spring as they really liked what he did this past year.    If he goes to CIS next year, he will lose the territorial exemption, which strategically would not be his best move.  Richott, in theory, could play this year and next with the Rifles, then jump to the Bombers.  He could also play this year and next with the Rifles, and still have 2 years of CIS eligibility, so there is no reason for him to jump to the Bisons either this year or next.

Lyles has physical talent, but I believe that Richott is a far superior athlete and teammate, and of course the Prairie conference of the CJFL is at a much higher level than the BC conference, so Richott is putting up big numbers against stronger talent.

 

1 hour ago, Jaxon said:

Richott  from the Rifles is currently eligible to be a territorial protected player for the Bombers.   He attended the Bomber rookie camp this past year, and is very much on the Bombers radar.   He's not only a great player, but he is also a great character/leader/lockeroom guy.   I'm certain that the Bombers will invite him back to camp next spring as they really liked what he did this past year.    If he goes to CIS next year, he will lose the territorial exemption, which strategically would not be his best move.  Richott, in theory, could play this year and next with the Rifles, then jump to the Bombers.  He could also play this year and next with the Rifles, and still have 2 years of CIS eligibility, so there is no reason for him to jump to the Bisons either this year or next.

Lyles has physical talent, but I believe that Richott is a far superior athlete and teammate, and of course the Prairie conference of the CJFL is at a much higher level than the BC conference, so Richott is putting up big numbers against stronger talent.

 

If this guy can get a US scholarship, he'd be loony not to pursue it.

52 minutes ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

If this guy can get a US scholarship, he'd be loony not to pursue it.

ehh depends on the school and even then that can evaporate pretty quickly. 

Hes in a good situation doesnt have to rush to make any decisions, he can just go out play football and let avenues open for him. 

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

ehh depends on the school and even then that can evaporate pretty quickly. 

Hes in a good situation doesnt have to rush to make any decisions, he can just go out play football and let avenues open for him. 

I'm not aware of any US interest at this point.   He certainly is on the radar of every CIS school, as all top CJFL players are.  I'm hoping that he sticks with the Rifles and goes straight to the Bombers in 2018.

Rifles play at home on Saturday night against Regina, and this will be a good test for the home team and for Richott.    He put up over 100 yds in week one against Saskatoon (the top team in the country), and then the big game against Edmonton.   No doubt that Regina will be game planning to try to limit him.   Should be a great game.    IGF field at 7:00 pm Saturday.  Tickets at Ticketmaster.

5 hours ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

If this guy can get a US scholarship, he'd be loony not to pursue it.

Yeah, this way he's covered as an import to the US and retains his National status by being a Loonie.

42 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

Yeah, this way he's covered as an import to the US and retains his National status by being a Loonie.

I'm not going to pay any attention to your comments until you remove the Red Buttons icon.  FYI he was a terrible actor and a worse comedian!

22 hours ago, Jaxon said:

I'm not aware of any US interest at this point.   He certainly is on the radar of every CIS school, as all top CJFL players are.  I'm hoping that he sticks with the Rifles and goes straight to the Bombers in 2018.

Rifles play at home on Saturday night against Regina, and this will be a good test for the home team and for Richott.    He put up over 100 yds in week one against Saskatoon (the top team in the country), and then the big game against Edmonton.   No doubt that Regina will be game planning to try to limit him.   Should be a great game.    IGF field at 7:00 pm Saturday.  Tickets at Ticketmaster.

I'll never understand why they charge $15 for adults to watch the Rifles and Bisons. And $7.50 for kids? Charge $5 for adults, let anyone under 18 in for free, get five times as many people out and make more on concessions. #marketing

5 minutes ago, nate007 said:

I'll never understand why they charge $15 for adults to watch the Rifles and Bisons. And $7.50 for kids? Charge $5 for adults, let anyone under 18 in for free, get five times as many people out and make more on concessions. #marketing

or get the same sized crowd and watch your revenue dry up.   The Rifles get the gate, but nothing from concessions at IGF.   Stadium rental, security, production costs all come into play.  The scoreboard and replay screens don't run themselves, they need techs and camera operators.

What does a junior hockey ticket cost in Brandon?   Why would football be so cheap?   The Rifles work off of a $300,000 per year budget, most of which is for travel.   Nobody's getting rich off of it.

I just think with the size of stadium they play in, it's a shame there are only 500-1000 people at these games. You don't think they'd triple their crowds if they slashed the prices? 

23 minutes ago, nate007 said:

I just think with the size of stadium they play in, it's a shame there are only 500-1000 people at these games. You don't think they'd triple their crowds if they slashed the prices? 

junior football is a tough sell, and the grass roots levels in manitoba are heavily under developed. The broncos averaged 500-600 including FnF. If the bombers continue the turn around and become consistent contenders for a few years we may finally see grass roots develop to a higher level.

Some US colleges back in the day built a following by giving large amounts of free tickets to high schools, which promised very high turn out. A few schools even brought in tons of band classes from surrounding hs's which made for a crazy loud atmosphere. Idk if thats doable here and now with the entertainment options to teens after/kids school. 

Edited August 23, 20169 yr by wbbfan

1 hour ago, nate007 said:

I just think with the size of stadium they play in, it's a shame there are only 500-1000 people at these games. You don't think they'd triple their crowds if they slashed the prices? 

Those games are mostly attended by family and friends, you may attract a few more people if you drop the price a little bit, but certainitly not 4x the amount they have which you'll need to make it worth it. 

9 hours ago, wbbfan said:

junior football is a tough sell, and the grass roots levels in manitoba are heavily under developed. The broncos averaged 500-600 including FnF. If the bombers continue the turn around and become consistent contenders for a few years we may finally see grass roots develop to a higher level.

Some US colleges back in the day built a following by giving large amounts of free tickets to high schools, which promised very high turn out. A few schools even brought in tons of band classes from surrounding hs's which made for a crazy loud atmosphere. Idk if thats doable here and now with the entertainment options to teens after/kids school. 

The Rifles have tried several times to have "Amateur Football Day" by offering free (or really cheap) tickets to high school teams and to MMFA clubs but it has never worked well.   A couple of years ago they spread many free tickets to WHSFL teams, only to watch their gate drop as some enterprising young men brought their team's tickets down to the stadium and sold them cheap or gave them away to fans who were heading to the box office.  Papering the house doesn't usually work well, it usually just devalues your product further as people stop buying as they know that they can get cheap tickets at any time.

I know that the Rifles would love to be able to bring groups of young players out at a very affordable price, but it is easier said than done!  The switch to Saturday evening games this year has received support from more of the alumni as it seems to be a good time for them to get together for a couple of beverages and to watch the game.   The crowd last weekend was decent, about 800, but it does get a bit overwhelmed in the big stadium.    The Rifles typically get larger crowds against Regina as it is a shorter trip for that team's fans.   Hopefully the Saturday night will attract even more.  Both teams are 1-1 so it should be a good game.

As I've said previously, my son coaches in the BCFC. Every one of their stadiums are between 1500 to 3,000 seats. Really nice little football stadiums, We've been to games in  Kelowna & Kamloops & both are well attended. the games are fun & have great atmosphere.

The Okanagan Sun sold  out the 3,000 seat Apple Bowl which is no surprise owing to them being such a successful organization. Kamloops is 0-4 but they had close to a thousand people at their game in a stadium with a capacity of 1500 seats. The BCFC teams play in much smaller stadiums than the PFC instead of massive CFL stadiums in Calgary, Regina & Winnipeg. My wife & I really enjoyed both those games as the fans were really into it.

Every PFC team should have a 3,000 seat stadium to play in. Not 33-35,000 seat stadiums where 3,000 fans look like a bunch of ants all on the 55 yard line & the place is dead.

Interestingly enough, there was a sign outside the stadium in Kamloops where the stadium was funded by the Harper Conservatives under their infrastructure program

Edited August 24, 20169 yr by iso_55

8 hours ago, iso_55 said:

As I've said previously, my son coaches in the BCFC. Every one of their stadiums are between 1500 to 3,000 seats. Really nice little football stadiums, We've been to games in  Kelowna & Kamloops & both are well attended. the games are fun & have great atmosphere.

The Okanagan Sun sold  out the 3,000 seat Apple Bowl which is no surprise owing to them being such a successful organization. Kamloops is 0-4 but they had close to a thousand people at their game in a stadium with a capacity of 1500 seats. The BCFC teams play in much smaller stadiums than the PFC instead of massive CFL stadiums in Calgary, Regina & Winnipeg. My wife & I really enjoyed both those games as the fans were really into it.

Every PFC team should have a 3,000 seat stadium to play in. Not 33-35,000 seat stadiums where 3,000 fans look like a bunch of ants all on the 55 yard line & the place is dead.

Interestingly enough, there was a sign outside the stadium in Kamloops where the stadium was funded by the Harper Conservatives under their infrastructure program

I don't disagree, but it comes down to $$$     With the exception of Saskatoon, all the PFC teams play in CFL cities, so those cities have investments in their CFL sized stadiums.  They are not as likely to pump money into building another 2000-3000 seat facility to house 4 home games for a CJFL club.   The Edmonton CJFL teams play out of Clarke Park which is a properly sized facility for them, but they have 2 teams that use it plus lots of other amateur football.    (For those younger than me, Clarke was were the Eskies played prior to Commonwealth being built in 1978....although it's been completely re-done as a minor football facility.   It's right next to Commonwealth Stadium).

Also in a place like Kelowna, which is the flagship of success for the CJFL (off field), they are the top level of football in town.   In Winnipeg, there are the Bombers and the Bison as well as the Rifles, so fans who want to watch a live game of football have more choices.

I've felt for a long time that it would be great to have a 2,000 seat amateur park in Winnipeg that could be shared by the Rifles, WHSFL, MMFA etc, but the trouble is always the  money.  Who would run it?  Most of these leagues are run by volunteers, and it's one thing to run your own program/facility, it's another to run a full time multi-use facility.

If a community wanted it  then it could have been done. Especially since the stadium in Kamloops was built with infrastructure money. The stadium in Kamloops isn't made of bricks & mortar. It's an aluminum & steel structure built like Tempire Stadium in BC that was used when BC Place was undergoing renovations. A 1,000 seat stadium wouldn't have been that big of an investment especially when the feds would have paid for it. Anyway, my son did play 2 years for the Rifles when they played at Canad Inns Stadium before he went to SFU.

Edited August 24, 20169 yr by iso_55

Sure it was a dump... but the old university stadium (is it still there?!?) the Bisons used to play in was great for intimacy... when the bisons were playing well, that place was packed and it made 500-1000 fans feel like 10,000...

16 hours ago, Jaxon said:

The Rifles have tried several times to have "Amateur Football Day" by offering free (or really cheap) tickets to high school teams and to MMFA clubs but it has never worked well.   A couple of years ago they spread many free tickets to WHSFL teams, only to watch their gate drop as some enterprising young men brought their team's tickets down to the stadium and sold them cheap or gave them away to fans who were heading to the box office.  Papering the house doesn't usually work well, it usually just devalues your product further as people stop buying as they know that they can get cheap tickets at any time.

I know that the Rifles would love to be able to bring groups of young players out at a very affordable price, but it is easier said than done!  The switch to Saturday evening games this year has received support from more of the alumni as it seems to be a good time for them to get together for a couple of beverages and to watch the game.   The crowd last weekend was decent, about 800, but it does get a bit overwhelmed in the big stadium.    The Rifles typically get larger crowds against Regina as it is a shorter trip for that team's fans.   Hopefully the Saturday night will attract even more.  Both teams are 1-1 so it should be a good game.

The difference is the ncaa teams gave tickets to high schools who brought the kids. Of course putting the tickets in the hands directly of kids or such for free is a bad idea. 

15 hours ago, iso_55 said:

As I've said previously, my son coaches in the BCFC. Every one of their stadiums are between 1500 to 3,000 seats. Really nice little football stadiums, We've been to games in  Kelowna & Kamloops & both are well attended. the games are fun & have great atmosphere.

The Okanagan Sun sold  out the 3,000 seat Apple Bowl which is no surprise owing to them being such a successful organization. Kamloops is 0-4 but they had close to a thousand people at their game in a stadium with a capacity of 1500 seats. The BCFC teams play in much smaller stadiums than the PFC instead of massive CFL stadiums in Calgary, Regina & Winnipeg. My wife & I really enjoyed both those games as the fans were really into it.

Every PFC team should have a 3,000 seat stadium to play in. Not 33-35,000 seat stadiums where 3,000 fans look like a bunch of ants all on the 55 yard line & the place is dead.

Interestingly enough, there was a sign outside the stadium in Kamloops where the stadium was funded by the Harper Conservatives under their infrastructure program

kamloops broncos play in hillside stadium which is normally 1k, and can be expanded to 1200 or so. And most times attendance for many years was 600-800 including FnF. It can seat 1500-1800, but not for football. And football doesnt pull in that kind of number. It is a beautiful place for football.  Now run by former bomber brad yamaoka.

15 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

The difference is the ncaa teams gave tickets to high schools who brought the kids. Of course putting the tickets in the hands directly of kids or such for free is a bad idea. 

kamloops broncos play in hillside stadium which is normally 1k, and can be expanded to 1200 or so. And most times attendance for many years was 600-800 including FnF. It can seat 1500-1800, but not for football. And football doesnt pull in that kind of number. It is a beautiful place for football.  Now run by former bomber brad yamaoka.

Hillside is a nice stadium. Perfect size for football. Check out Westhills Stadium the home of the Westshore Rebels (Victoria)  & Langley Rams (McLeod Athletic Park) stadium on either their websites or on Google.

Edited August 24, 20169 yr by iso_55

5 minutes ago, iso_55 said:

Hillside is a nice stadium. Perfect size for football. Check out Westhills Stadium the home of the Westshore Rebels (Victoria)  & Langley Rams stadium on either their websites or on Google.

Perfect size for football in canada out side of university in Quebec yeah. my time in junior came down there. Its great, though i prefer living in central to northern bc. I can never say enough about how great it is out there, but im a manitoban at heart and chances are i wont get back to bc in the next couple years.

My feeling has always been that although PFC teams with CFL stadiums use them for home games, they really need 2-3,000 seat stadiums to create an atmosphere that is fun & where the home team has the advantage because of the crowd. In the PFC it's nothing but empty seats in Regina, Winnipeg & Calgary. there is no 'home field advantage". Sure, in CFL cities junior football is waaay down the list of things to do & the local media doesn't care but the empty massive stadiums for PFC home games just drives the point home to people that junior football is something definitely not cool to watch when truthfully it is. That is unfortunate.

Edited August 25, 20169 yr by iso_55

The Rifles and other iterations of CJFL teams have played in smaller venues like Rods Field and had the same or less support.  There are a number of venues in the city that would be smaller than IGF, like East Side, Rods, Nomads, but I'm sure it's more attractive to players to play in the big stadium with better facilities.  That's probably more important than getting a couple hundred more people out.