BCFC Game of the Week (7): Week 2 rematch

The Game of the Week in the BCFC will feature the 4-1 Okanagan Sun visiting the 3-2 Vancouver Island Raiders in Nanaimo.

It’s a rematch of Week 2 when the Sun beat the Raiders at home 17-3.  The Raiders would barely avoid the franchise’s first shutout with a late field goal in the fourth quarter.

The Sun would dominate the game on the defensive side holding the Raiders to 224 offensive yards.  Jack Rush would lead the way with seven stops and an interception while Brandon Donkers also picked off a pass.

Quarterback Theo Deezar would lead the Sun in his first BCFC start finishing 12 of 24 for 133 yards and a touchdown pass to Tommy Howes.

JT Fernandez would also score a major with a one yard plunge.

Fast forward to now Week 7 and both teams look very different.  While Deezar has been the consistent pivot for the Sun, the Raiders have platooned two young quarterbacks in Jaeden Marwich and Jamie Ybarra.  Both have started a game and both have looked decent.  Ybarra threw five touchdown passes in his start with against the Huskers in Week 4, while Marwich threw three interceptions and just one major in his Week 5 start at Kamloops.

One another change to the Raiders fold is receiver Whitman Tomusiak has returned after an injury.  He has caught six passes in the last two games for 74 yards and a touchdown.  He is a very dangerous weapon for the Raiders, the question will be, can the banged up offensive line give the quarterbacks enough time to be able to find Tomusiak?

Whenever the Raiders and Sun meet the game is built up as a “rivalry game.”  That being said, this series has been one sided for the last number of years.   The Raiders have beaten the Sun all but three times since 2006.  The Sun last recorded a victory in Nanaimo in 2005.  Last season the Sun missed a 10 yard field goal in the late stages of the fourth quarter that would have sealed a win, however the mystique held and the Raiders prevailed.

So Saturday afternoon the rivalry continues as the Sun will look to hold onto first place and complete their first ever sweep of the Raiders; kickoff at 4:00pm.