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With the outcome almost a foregone conclusion, the Okanagan Sun’s game against the host Valley Huskers on Saturday gave the Kelowna-based B.C. Football Conference team the opportunity to fine-tune their challenging playoff run.
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Scoring 10 points on their first two possessions, building a 24-0 lead by the first quarter, and going up by 32 points at the half, the first-place Sun let their backups audition in the second half en route to a 42-3 victory over the winless (0-7) Huskers at Exhibition Stadium in Chilliwack.
“We have to start making some tough decisions to narrow down our roster for the playoffs, so it was good we got off to a quick start today,” said head coach Ben Macauley, whose team had dominated Huskers 71-7 in their previous encounter this season.
With the second- and third-string units managing just 10 points in the final two quarters, Macauley conceded he found out there’s work to be done among the Sun’s depth players.
“We really need to prepare our second string better. That’s on us as coaches,” he noted after the Sun cruised to a 6-0-1 record on the season. “We can’t take a step down when our backups roll in. We have the talent and they deserve to be coached up to the best of our ability.”
As for his starters, Macauley was pleased with how they set the tone physically, while he lauded the work of the bounce-back performance of special teams after a relatively lacklustre effort against the Vancouver Island Raiders (31-31) a week earlier in Kelowna.
“And our defensive line and team tackling was very good,” noted Macauley.
Individually, the second-year coach couldn’t have been happier with the impressive return of No. 1 quarterback, Keith Zyla, who threw four touchdown passes in his first game since being injured (lower body injury) in the season opener.
“Nick (Wenman) did a great job of filling in as the starting QB and he’s a great option if the opportunity arises again,” said Macauley. “But it was good to see Keith back and regaining his confidence with his receivers.”
Zyla threw 31 passes and completed 22 for 318 yards. He found Rashaun Simonise (six receptions for 82 yards) for a pair of TDs while connecting with Kyler Mosley for a 63-yard pass-and-run play for the only major in the second half. The other touchdown pass went to Jesse Falconer in the first quarter.
The Sun ran the ball only 15 times, with Brenden Hansen taking care of the biggest load with six carries for 43 yards, his longest gain being 22 yards.
Defensively, the Sun impressed the coaching staff with their line play and tackling overall. Macauley said lineman Mitch Lyons (three tackles) was particularly impressive.
Hayward Beasley added a pair of quarterback sacks while stripping the ball from the Huskers’ Keegen Vicklund and barrelling 50 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
Isaac Wegner accounted for the remainder of the Sun points, kicking a pair of field goals (from 35 and 27 yards) on three tries and adding five converts.
The Sun are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Kamloops to take on the 1-6 Broncos, who fell 27-21 to the Langley Rams (4-3) on Saturday.
Macauley said he and his coaching staff will be concentrating on sound assignments in the secondary this week and raising the level of the team’s offensive line play.
“We feel we are still a bit under the radar and have a chance to become a really good football team.” he said on Saturday. “We aren’t there year, but we are committed to improving every week.”
The Sun’s next home game at the Apple Bowl is set for Oct. 1 when they play host to the Langley Rams. They close out the regular season Oct. 7 against the second-place Westshore Rebels (6-1) at Westhill Stadium in Langford.
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