Okanagan Sun extend unbeaten run to 4-0 on weekend
Okanagan unable to preserve shutout in blowout of Chilliwack
Nick Wenman threw four touchdown passes in the first 18 minutes and the rout was on.
To the surprise of no one, the Okanagan Sun remained unbeaten on Saturday night by hammering the winless Valley Huskers of Chilliwack 71-7 in B.C. Football Conference action at the Apple Bowl in Kelowna.
Wenman, the backup quarterback filling in for injured incumbent Keith Zyla, connected with four different receivers to open up an early 29-0 lead that Okanagan stretched to 46-0 with a couple rushing touchdowns before halftime.
Under centre for his third straight win, as the Sun improved to 4-0, Wenman was impressive again in commanding the offence.
He fired a touchdown pass to Nate Anderson to make it 8-0 in the first quarter, then tossed a screen to Robbie Rodrigues on the first play of the second frame for a 15-0 lead.
The Sun exploded from there, with Wenman finding Spencer Schmidt and Liam Crane for majors through the air, while Kyler Mosley and Carter Gordon got into the end zone on the ground to round out the first-half scoring barrage.
Isaac Wegner also kicked an 11-yard field goal between the latter two TDs after previously missing a 29-yarder for a single point on Okanagan’s first possession of the game.
Okanagan eased up somewhat in the second half, working in its second- and third-stringers on both sides of the ball but still running up the score to 70-0 in the fourth quarter before Chilliwack finally got on the board with its first points since Week 1.
The third quarter started with another Wegner field goal, from 31 yards — improving to 10-for-12 on the season and finishing 2-for-3 on the night. He also added a punt single to bookend the scoring.
Prior to that, the Sun defence started stepping up and stealing the spotlight — led by Tye Kitzman’s length-of-the-field pick-six, a 101-yard touchdown to make it 56-0.
It was Kitzman’s fourth interception in as many games — recording one in each game thus far — to take over the BCFC lead in takeaways. The Vernon product came into Week 4 tied with Danny Harris of the Huskers, with three picks.
Kitzman’s lead was short-lived, though, with rookie teammate Aldrich Berrios putting forth a phenomenal performance by tying a Sun franchise record with four interceptions against Chilliwack — the first four of his junior career, three of them coming in the fourth quarter — while also recovering a fumbled kick return to account for five turnovers.
The Sun finished with a stunning seven interceptions, with Berrios becoming the obvious choice for BCFC defensive player of the week.
Berrios wasn’t the only Sun rookie to emerge as a second-half standout.
Running back Joseph Okunlola scored on consecutive carries of 45 and 25 yards in the fourth quarter, taking both hand-offs from Matthew Mahler in his first two plays after relieving Wenman as Okanagan kept on rolling.
However, the Huskers did get something to celebrate when their backup QB Nicolae Nica replaced Noah Falconer and delivered a deep touchdown pass to Marius Anghel down the sideline, victimizing Kitzman’s replacement five minutes into the fourth quarter.
That was the only blemish on a dominant effort by Okanagan.
Things will get tougher for the Sun this weekend when they open a home-and-home against the Vancouver Island Raiders (3-1), who thumped the Kamloops Broncos 51-10 on Saturday afternoon in Nanaimo.
Both Island teams scored big wins in Week 4, with the Westshore Rebels (3-1) keeping pace for second place by beating the visiting Langley Rams 29-5 in Victoria.
Kamloops and Langley both fell to 1-3, tied for fourth place ahead of the Huskers (0-4), who were outscored 120-8 in their first three games.
Chilliwack lost its opener 41-8 in Kamloops and Okanagan blanked the Broncos 36-0 the following weekend to set the tone for Saturday’s mismatch.
The Huskers came to Kelowna already reeling from consecutive shutout losses at home, 39-0 to Langley and 40-0 to Vancouver Island.
The Sun also have victories over Westshore, 19-15 in their opener, and Langley, 34-17 last weekend.
EXTRA POINTS: Berrios is only the second Sun player to have four interceptions in a game — a feat also accomplished by Darby Ray back in 2003, in a game against the Victoria Rebels . . . . The BCFC and Canadian Junior Football League record is five interceptions in a single game, set by Ray Poloziani of the Burlington Braves in 1980 and matched by Mark Todd of the Victoria Payless in 1987 and Jason Rosettani of the Burlington Braves in 1990 . . . . Week 5 has Okanagan heading to Nanaimo for a 2 p.m. kickoff on Saturday in what will be billed as a first-place showdown between the Sun (4-0) and the host Raiders (3-1). Then, following the Labour Day weekend bye, the Sun will welcome the Raiders to the Apple Bowl for a return game — a 1 p.m. kickoff on Sunday, Sept. 10 . . . . Also in Week 5, Westshore hosts Chilliwack and Langley visits Kamloops.