The Okanagan Sun overpowered the Langley Rams in the second half, turning a close game at the break into a 32-13 victory.
The junior football teams were battling at Kelowna’s Apple Bowl on Saturday night in a first-place showdown with the loss dropping Langley to 2-2 while the Sun improved to 4-0.
The first half was a defensive battle as the Sun scored on a single and a safety while Langley countered with a pair of short 16-yard field goals from Brian Hope for a 6-3 score at the break.
But the Sun would find the end zone three times in the third quarter to blow the game open.
“We played a good game and fought hard in the first half,” said Rams coach Jeff Alamolhoda.
“We had a couple of bad plays happen and unfortunately, with the youth of our football team and the inexperience …. we kind of lost our energy on the sidelines, dropped our heads a little bit for a quarter and that really put us in a position where they were able to sustain two drives and put the game out of reach.”
The coach said his team needs to focus on making sure they have a positive play following a negative one.
The Rams vaunted ground game was held in check as Langley managed just 89 yards on 18 carries, compared to Okanagan’s 289 yards rushing on 18 carries.
And with the running game not working, Langley wasn’t able to muster much through the air either, as Dylan Tucker and Devoun Hallums combined to go for 12-of-25 for 83 yards and three interceptions. Hallums did connect with Seye Akinsanmi on a 10-yard touchdown pass.
Statistically, Langley had a solid game on the defensive side of the ball, although their pass rush — which had 18 sacks through the first three weeks — was held in check with just Jacob Dodd able to get to the quarterback.
And the Rams also forced five fumbles, recovering four of them, and also picking off a pass and blocking a kick .
“Those kinds of games happen where you are just not able to capitalize on positive situations,” Alamolhoda said.
“Unfortunately, that can be attributed to the inexperience and the youth of our football team.”
Langley is back in action on Saturday at McLeod Athletic Park against the Westshore Rebels. Game time is 4 p.m.
