Cash-strapped Kamloops Broncos enter campaign focused on football, not club coffers

KAMLOOPS — Head coach Braden Vankoughnett said his Kamloops Broncos are entering the B.C. Football Conference campaign buoyed by a productive off-season that included a solid recruiting class and well-attended spring camp.

“We did move quite a few guys on to the next level and graduate some guys, but the guys we have coming back are pretty talented and a year older,” Vankoughnett told CFJC Today before practise on Wednesday (July 17) at Hillside Stadium.

“We’ve started to develop a really good core group that is building a nice culture here. We’ve got a new board (of directors). They’re doing some great things, driving up popularity in the community.”

Kamloops will open its season on Saturday (July 20) against the defending league champions, the Westshore Rebels of Langford, with game time slated for 7 p.m. at Hillside Stadium.

High school and community football players who wear their team jerseys will get in for free.

Attracting fans to home games will be key to the club’s efforts to drag itself out of financial trouble, as it nearly folded after the 2023 season and announced a fundraising goal of $200,000.

Defensive assistant and special teams coach Evan Mutrie said players will be focused on football — not club coffers — on Saturday night.

“I think we’ve got that handed outside of the field,” said Mutrie, who is on the Broncos’ board of directors.

“This group has done a really good job of taking some weight off the coaching staff and players, so they can just play ball.”

The Broncos coughed up for equipment, including new helmets, during the off-season, purchases Vankoughnett said have boosted team morale.

“They know how it’s been nickel-and-diming the last couple of years,” he said. “They’ve definitely noticed a change.”

Standout receiver Colton Meikle, who participated in B.C. Lions’ training camp this year, has never experienced BCFC post-season football.

He is holding out hope for 2024, noting the club appears to have brought in a few game-changing players.

“They’re definitely just a whole bunch of ballers,” Meikle said, noting defensive lineman Michael Fields is among promising newcomers.

“I think it will be a good season, a good turnaround.”

Vankoughnett was not ready to name a starting quarterback earlier this week, noting the competition is ongoing.

Meikle said Clark Snider and Brayden Barcsik are the leading candidates under centre.

The Broncos have not qualified for the BCFC post-season since 2015.

No gaudy guarantees were trumpeted before practise on Wednesday, but there is hope — and that always seems to spring anew around this time of year for the Broncos.

“Anything can happen,” Vankoughnett said. “Any given Saturday, any team can win in this league. I’m excited to see what we can do against the defending champs this weekend.”