They were long-time stalwarts on the high school football field for the Duchess Park Condors.
Now, Jordan Cundy and Rylan Matters are taking flight and their game to the next level, all the way from senior double-A varsity to the Canadian Junior Football League.
Cundy is an 18-year-old six-foot defensive tackle who suited up for the Condors for four years and just graduated from high school this spring.
Matters is Duchess Park's 17-year-old six-foot 190-pound starting quarterback who's about to enter his senior year at pivot.
Both of them will line up for their first game in the CJFL today as members of the Nanaimo-based Vancouver Island Raiders.
The Raiders, the defending CJFL champions, are in Langley to tackle the Rams to kick off the 2014 season.
Matters and Cundy have been in Nanaimo since early July participating in the Raiders' grueling main camp - two practices each day.
Raiders head coach Brian Ridgeway likes what he's seen so far from the pair of rookies from Prince George.
"They're just both doing outstanding," he said from Nanaimo this week. "Cundy was on defence but we moved him to the o-line [offensive line] because of injuries. He's picked it up and the blocking schemes. He's become one of the best offensive linemen and gelled with everyone.
"Matters is a gifted athlete, and it's more his high work ethic and his attention to detail."
Matters and Cundy attended the Raiders tryouts in April and received invites soon after. Matters was among five quarterbacks at the spring camp and Cundy was among 14 defensive linemen.
After winning the 2013 national championship, the Raiders had a lot of holes to fill on both sides of the ball and recruited talent from across Canada.
"At first it was really tough and then we got the hang of it," said Cundy prior to making the trek to Vancouver Island. "It's awesome to go back, a few of their players have gone on to be successful in the CFL."
Matters is coming off his best high school season yet and is regarded as one of the top-10 players in the province. As a Grade 11 player in 2013, he was the top-rated quarterback at the senior varsity double-A level in the B.C. High School Football Association.
He is amongst two rookies and one returnee at the quarterback position.
"I'm extremely happy with how [April's tryouts] went," he said. "I'm pretty excited - they have a national championship under their belt."
Ridgeway, who came on board as head coach in January, said it's like night and day from when he first saw them in April to now.
"At the spring camp they performed well but we knew they would definitely struggle with the speed," he said. "From camp to now, Rylan has picked it up extremely well and he knows the playbook."
The Raiders 2014 campaign is a 10-game regular season in the six-team B.C. Football Conference.
"We're going to be a very young team this year with an average age of 19," said Ridgeway, who also oversees the linebackers. "We have very good veteran receivers, but we've encountered some injuries. Our defensive linemen are quite good and we have more experience at the skilled positions."
Ridgeway's coaching staff includes several who used to call Prince George home. His assistant coach is former PG Axemen head coach and D.P. Todd head coach Curtis Hansen, who's been with the Raiders for six years.
Offensive co-ordinator Jordan Botel is one of Ridgeway's former teammates from the Raiders' 2006 championship team. He played high school ball for the College Heights Cougars and moved on to the Mount Allison Mounties in the CIS after playing for the Raiders.
Both Cundy and Matters realize the Raiders are another stepping stone in their football careers.
"I want to play CIS after a couple years, but you can't get ahead of yourself," said Cundy.
"It will help in the long run coming back for my final year at Duchess Park," added Matters. "It's a pretty neat atmosphere. The coaches are really cool and chill."
