Sun struggle in opening season win

It won’t go down as a classic by any stretch of the imagination.

The Okanagan Sun committed four turnovers, allowed five sacks and were flagged for 20 infractions and still managed to escape Kamloops with a 24-10 victory over the hometown Broncos.

“Great teams find a way to win,” says Sun defensive back Daymon Pommier who had one of three Sun defences and pounded Broncos receivers at every opportunity.

Bobby Davis, making his first start in a Sun uniform had trouble moving the offence in the opening half, mainly on the heels of 150 yards in penalties the club took.

Davis hit Dan Turek with a 27 yard strike 10:29 into the opening quarter to open the scoring.

The two hooked up again in the second, however, the 49 yard major was called back because of an offensive holding penalty.

Davis finished his half of work 9-15 for 193 yards and the one touchdown.

Taylor Potkins, who battled Davis stride for stride in training camp played a bulk of the second half.

Potkins found Daniel Xavier with a 10 yard touchdown three minutes into the third and hit Tore Tarcon on a 35 yard screen pass for another major in the fourth quarter.

He completed just 4 of 8 for 77 yards and the two touchdowns.

“Taylor has really been pushing him and we wanted to give him a shot at it so we did,” says Sun head coach Pete McCall.

“There’s still a bit of a question mark there now and we’re going to have to look at things again. It keeps everybody hungry, nobody’s job is secure so it will hopefully bring the best out of them.”

McCall says he’ll have to look at the game film and see how both respond in practice before deciding who gets the start next Saturday against the Big Kahuna Rams.

The 2nd year Sun coach admits Saturday’s game was sloppy to say the least.

He says some of that had to do with the fact the team didn’t have an exhibition game.

“We’ve had about 18 days of camp but the guys get kind of bored going up against each other every day and there’s nothing that simulates a real game and tonight was a real wake up call. We never really had to put all of these things together and perform like that.”

Turek finished the night with four catches and 72 yards while Matt Scheurwater, who moved from wide receiver to the slot caught three balls for 86 yards.

Tarcon rushed for just 36 yards on 11 carries as the running game had difficulty hitting its stride.

Defensively, the Sun, despite losing defensive end Steven Doege to injury early in the game, came as advertised.

The defense allowed only 226 yards of total offence including just 56 yards on the ground. They had five sacks and caused five turnovers including three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

“Defensively we held it down pretty good. The three points on the field goal you can contribute to penalties and the only touchdown was off a turnover,” says Pommier.

“Besides that the defense did play well. It’s typical in football that defenses gel a lot faster than offenses. We knew that and expected that but we definitely have a lot of work to do.”

Pommier agreed with coach McCall that the team will need to work on timing and discipline during practice this week as they prepare to host the Rams, a team which finished second in the BCFC a year ago.

“Yes, they beat us in our home last year and they are going to be a very good team again this year. If we come out and play like this I don’t think we’re going to have a chance.”

The Rams will come in hungry for a win next weekend after dropping their season opener to the Vancouver Island Raiders.

Next Saturday’s home opener kicks off at 7 p.m. at the Apple Bowl.

Incidentally, the 20 penalties are not a Sun team record. That distinction goes to the 1997 edition of the Sun who committed 24 penalties in a game against the Vancouver Island Sharks.

by Wayne Moore – Castanet.net – Jul 25, 2010

PICTURE: Defensive lineman Steven Doege makes sure Kamloops running back Kirby Barker has no running room. (Photo: Wayne Moore – Castanet)