Heading into this past weekend’s match-up of unbeaten teams early in the BCFC season, the Okanagan Sun defense was hot, having allowed just seven points in two games.
And against the rival VI Raiders in Nanaimo, the defense came up huge again, shutting down the Raiders offense in a 27-3 win over Vancouver Island, limiting the Raiders to just 35 yards rushing and 110 yards through the air and putting up a team record 10 quarterback sacks.
“Ten sacks speaks for itself,” said Sun coach Shane Beatty on a break from watching film Tuesday. “The kids played well. They played fast and they came out playing aggressive. It was a great performance from the D and the special teams and offensively we played very well as well.”
Ryley Butler led the swarming defensive line with three sacks on his own while Lucas Machado had two and Jonas Gering was credited with 1.5. Layne Hull and Justin Gabriel each had one.
“Our defensive line had a heck of a game, we just out-performed them all game,” said Beatty. “It was a big win. Our kids came out with confidence. We came out with some swagger and we have to do that to be able to win.”
The Sun improved to 3-and-0 with the win as they get set to return home to the Apple Bowl for another tough test as the Langley Rams (2-and-1) will come to Kelowna this weekend for a Saturday night game at 7 p.m.
