It was a tale of two halves as the Okanagan Sun found their rhythm after halftime, powering past the visiting Prince George Kodiaks with a 35–11 victory, Saturday at Apple Field in ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½.
The Sun offense sputtered out of the gate, resembling an old farm pickup running on fumes. Their early struggles allowed the Kodiaks to jump out to an 11–0 lead in the first quarter.
A failed third-and-inches attempt by quarterback Marcus Christos set the tone, giving Prince George excellent field position. Kodiaks quarterback Sawyer Thiessen—who finished 12-of-16 for 124 yards—connected with receiver Myron Brown for a 46-yard catch-and-run touchdown to open the scoring.
The Kodiaks added a single point on the ensuing kickoff, which sailed through the end zone, pushing the lead to 8–0. On the next Sun possession, a failed fake punt gave Prince George the ball at the Okanagan 22-yard line. Fortunately for the Sun, the defense held strong, limiting the Kodiaks to a 36-yard field goal with just over five minutes left in the first quarter.
That would be the last time Prince George would score.
The Sun defense clamped down, allowing the offense and special teams to turn the tide. Early in the second quarter, kicker Liam Attwood put the Sun on the board with a 29-yard field goal. Less than two minutes later, defensive back Glen Kodua electrified the home crowd with a 64-yard punt return touchdown, closing the gap to 11–10.
A single point from punter Grady Hay and a conceded safety by the Kodiaks rounded out the first-half scoring, giving Okanagan a 13–11 lead at halftime.
The Sun maintained their slim lead until late in the third quarter when backup quarterback Marcus Christos scored on a 6-yard run, extending the lead to 20–11. On the ensuing kickoff, Attwood added another single as his wind-assisted boot traveled 75 yards, making it 21–11 after three quarters.
Christos, who replaced starting quarterback Liam Kroeger (11-of-20 for 123 yards), remained in for the fourth quarter. He threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tyler Craver before adding his second rushing TD of the night, capping the scoring at 35–11.
Running back Gerren Hardisty, the BCFC leader in rushing yards (400), rushing touchdowns (4), and rushing yards per game (133.3), once again proved indispensable. He carried the ball 28 times for 206 yards and added two receptions for 64 yards, totaling 270 yards of offense.
Aside from the first quarter, the Sun defense stifled the Kodiaks, holding them to just 193 net yards. Defensive linemen Jarveon Williams and JaQuintis Summers each recorded two sacks. Summers also registered five tackles and one assist and now leads the BCFC with six sacks. DL Hunter Bultsma added another sack to round out the SunÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ pressure up front.
Despite a sluggish start, the Sun offense posted 196 yards in the first half and 245 in the second, finishing with 441 yards of total offense.
Okanagan will face their toughest test of the season next weekend when they travel to Vancouver Island to take on the undefeated Westshore Rebels, who are coming off a bye week.