CJFL: Suns, Raiders & Rams all win in Week 2

Week 2 in the BCFC saw two very exciting games and one blowout as the Okanagan Sun, VI Raiders and Langley Rams each claimed victory.

RAIDERS 23 – REBELS 21

After Saturday night there is no doubt that the Island rivalry is alive and kicking as the Raiders held onto a 23-21 win despite not scoring in the second half in the Westshore Rebels home opener.

The Raiders were missing quarterback Liam O’Brien as back-up Brody Taylor finished 6 of 16 for 93 yards.   His favourite target was Taylor Flavel who had four receptions for 45 yards.

Without their All-Canadian pivot the Raiders turned to the running attack which collected 286 yards led by Nathan Berg and his career high 34 carries for 198 yards and two touchdowns.  Taylor also scored a touchdown with his feet on a short yardage plunge.

Defensively the Raiders forced five turnovers.  Four of which were on downs, while Max Baldman picked off a pass.  Alex Eberling had a team high five tackles while Quinton Bowles, James Smith and Tyler Harvey each collected a sack.

The Raiders (2-0) stay undefeated and will host the Okanagan Sun (2-0) on Saturday afternoon at 4:00pm in a battle of the two remaining undefeated teams.

What a difference a week makes for the Westshore Rebels.  After being clubbed 78-7 in Week 1, they came out flying in Week 2, tallying 371 yards of total offence.

Quarterback Ashton MacKinnon finished 21 of 43 for 365 yards and threw three touchdowns passes.  His most effective receiver was back-up quarterback Hunter Lake who hauled in a Conference high eight passes for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  Eric Williams caught six passes for 114 yards and a score.

The Rebels “D” didn’t allow a point in the second half led by James Bradley who had a game high eight solo tackles.   Dusean Leblanc recorded six tackles and half a sack while Cohan Sassaman had four stops, the other half sack and a fumble recovery.

Next Saturday night the Rebels (0-2) will travel to Kamloops to Face the Broncos (1-1) at Hillside Stadium at 7:00pm.

SUN 64 – HUSKERS 0

For the second straight week the Okanagan Sun completely dominated their opponent, beating the Valley Huskers 64-0.  The shutout is the 51st in franchise history, now five back of the BCFC All-Time leader Vancouver Meralomes who had 56 shutouts in 332 games played.

The 64 points, plus their 78 in Week 1 sets a new BCFC mark for points scored in their first two games.  The 142 points surpasses the VI Raiders mark of 123 in 2009.

The Sun offence was very balanced rushing for 225 yards and passing for 286.  Quarterback Cam Bedore finished six of eight for 176 yards and a pair of two long touchdowns of 67 and 53 yards.  Josiah Joseph was three of seven for 82 yards and a two TD passes.

Eight different receivers caught passes , led by Thomas Huber’s three catches for 101 yards, including a 67 yard touchdown.  Kyle Patchell, Kyle Kawamoto and Pierre-Luc Lord also caught touchdown passes.

On the ground the Sun had seven different ball carriers led by Kory Nagata’s eight rushes for 82 yards.  Dillon Fortune had nine carries for 56 yards.  Both Kasey Russell’s carries resulted in short yardage touchdowns.

The Sun special teams got in on the action as well.  Punt returner Jamie Turek rushed 85 yards, untouched to the house for the club’s first return for a touchdown of the year.  Huber hit a pair of field goals.

The defence was a force, allowing just five yards on the ground and 82 through the air.  They recorded four turnovers as Brennan Van Nistelrooy intercepted a pass, Tyler Geisler recovered a fumble and there were two turnover on downs.  Layne Hull had a pair of sacks and Keagan Hughes had a team high four tackles.

This coming Saturday the Sun (2-0) will stay on the road and face the Raiders (2-0) at Caledonia Park.

The Valley Huskers were overmatched against the Sun, recording just 37 yards of net offence.

Quarterback Noah Falconer completed 11 passes for 50 yards.  Kellen Pooles caught a game high five balls for 37 yards.

On the Husker “D” Kyle Cummings had an outstanding game making five tackles, while Travis Dietrich recorded the lone sack.

The Huskers (0-2) will hit the road for the first time next weekend and match-up with the Langley Rams (1-1).

RAMS 25 – BRONCOS 17

The lone Sunday tilt saw a rematch of last year’s semi-final as the Kamloops Broncos hosted the Langley Rams for the first time since 2011.  The game came down to the wire as the Rams scored 15 points in the final quarter to hold off the Broncos for a 25-17 victory.

The Rams ground game came alive on Sunday, wearing down the Broncos “D.”  Nathan Lund rushed 10 times for 144 yards and had a touchdown, while Jacob Patko also rumbled for a major.  In all the Rams running attack collected 260 yards on the ground.

The passing game added a balanced element for the Rams offence as quarterback Devoun Hallums completed seven of 13 passes for 102 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Shane Akinsanmi.  Bobby Pospischil was the team’s top receiver catching three passes for 91 yards.

Defensively the Rams collected five sacks getting in the face of the Broncos quarterback.    Last week’s defensive player of the week gathered two, while Saeed Hosaine-Ali also had a pair.  Austin Iredale added one.  Alex Agnoletto showed is power recording a Conference high eight solo tackles while Jacob Dodd had seven.  Clovis Lumeka forced the lone Rams turnover intercepting a pass.

The Rams (1-1) will finally host their home opener on Saturday night when they host the Valley Huskers (0-2) at 7:00pm.

The Kamloops Broncos didn’t get the revenge they were hoping for, but did prove they can run with the defending champs.

Quarterback Steve Schuweiler had another game over 200 yards, connecting on 10 completions for 213 yards and a touchdown.  His favourite target was again Derek Yachison who caught seven balls for 84 yards and a major.  Devin Csincsa hauled in five passes for 48 yards.  Schuweiler also ran for a touchdown.

Jacob Palmarin had an outstanding game against a very tough Rams defence.  He rushed 15 times for 101 yards.

Over on the defensive side of things Michael Ochoa once again led the Broncos with seven tackles while Jonaus Levac had six and an interception.

The Broncos (1-1) will stay at home and host the Westshore Rebels (0-2) on Saturday night at 7:00pm.