Valley Huskers rolled by Langley Rams in BCFC home opener

The Rams defence pitched a shutout in a 39-0 junior football win at Chilliwack's Exhibition Stadium.

HASH(0x292e52c)

HASH(0x292e52c)

Star running back Nathan Lund rushed for 100 yards and his Langley Rams returned an interception 106 yards for a touchdown last Saturday, bombing the Valley Huskers 39-0 at Exhibition Stadium.

In the second game of the 2017 B.C. Football Conference season the Huskers were held to 193 yards of total offence by a stingy Langley D that didn’t give an inch.

The game started badly for the home team when Huskers quarterback Noah Falconer fumbled on the opening possession of the game. Langley defensive lineman Adam Marchetti pounced on the loose ball and the Rams took over on the Huskers’ 22-yard line.

The visitors punched the ball into the endzone not once, but twice, with both touchdowns taken off the board by penalties. Four and a half minutes in, the Rams settled for a single point on a 38 yard Wayne Palmer punt into the endzone.

A 22 yard field goal by Palmer gave Langley a 4-0 lead as the first quarter ended and Rams running back Ryan MacDonald pushed the lead to 11 with a 26 yard touchdown run.

Langley quarterback Rylan Matters led another scoring drive that was capped by a Joe Carter TD run, and a second Marchetti fumble recovery led to a Matters major and a bulging 25-0 halftime lead.

Chilliwack pushed back in the second half, forcing the Rams to concentrate on defense. The Huskers reached into their bag of trick plays, even trying a fake punt on third and 16 from their own 36.

Another Joe Carter TD put Langley up by 31 in the third quarter, setting the stage for a near record breaking play in the final minutes.

Falconer led a Husker drive deep into Rams territory. From the 22 year line he chucked up a pass that was picked off by Kyle Clarot.

Langley’s rookie defensive back scampered 106 yards the other way, recording the third longest interception return for a touchdown in the 70 year history of the B.C. Football Conference.

The offensive numbers for the Huskers were pure ugly in this one.

Falconer completed just six of 23 pass attempts for 118 yards and two interceptions. Marius Anghel accounted for 77 yards on two catches, with no other Husker receiver topping 24 yards.

The running game was almost completely negated by the Rams, who held Chilliwack to 71 yards on 18 carries.

Eddy Perrin’s 46 yards on nine carries led the way while hyped rookie Keegan Vicklund recorded minus two yards on two carries.

Defensively, Danny Harris and Riley Simpson picked off Ram passes and Jordan Farry and Tyler McStravick each had fumble recoveries. James Moar recorded a quarterback sack and Alex Zamora led the D with six tackles.

The Huskers are back home Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff against the Vancouver Island Raiders.

The Raiders, coached by ex-Canadian Football League linebacker Doug Hocking, are 1-1 to start the season with a 20-13 win over the Rams.

— The Okanagan Sun blanked Kamloops 36-0 and the Raiders fell 27-25 to the Westshore Rebels in other BCFC action.

See bcfootballconference.com for more.

Chilliwack Progress