It’s not as if Jonas Gering was looking past any one of the Okanagan Sun’s first three games of the 2015 B.C. Football Conference season.
But with the Langley Rams coming to town this weekend, the 21-year-old defensive end has had Saturday, Aug. 15 on his mind for some time.
No one who was wearing a Sun uniform last October has forgotten the heartbreak of a 23-19 loss to the Rams in the conference championship at the Apple Bowl.
“This one has been circled since the beginning of the season,” said Gering, now in his fourth season of junior football.
“The end result of last season just makes this game that much more important. It’s a big game for us, a chance to show just how strong of a team we are. This is the real test for us.”
While the Sun leads the conference at 3-0, the Rams are 2-1 with their lone defeat coming in opening weekend against the Vancouver Island Raiders.
Langley has seen a few changes from last year’s championship team, including the departures of star receivers Malcolm Williams and Daniel English.
But with the addition of former SFU receiver Bobby Pospischil, a powerful running game and a solid defence, Sun head coach Shane Beatty said the Rams are every bit as formidable as they were a year ago.
“They’re very physical,” said Beatty. “They try run the football down your throat with a power running game. They’re going to try and get after us, we’ll have to be ready for them.
“It’s going to be a battle and a great football game.”
The Rams biggest challenge Saturday just may be solving the Sun defence which has yielded a meagre 10 points—3.33 per game—in three starts this season.
Last week against the Raiders, the Okanagan defense tied a B.C. conference record with 10 sacks.
“The guys are flying around and playing really well right now,” said Jonas Gering. “Those 10 sacks weren’t just because of the D-line…our whole defense, our linebackers, our DBs have all been playing great.
“If we can just play our same game (against the Rams) then we should make it tough for them.”
Kick off Saturday night at the Apple Bowl between the Sun and Rams is 7 p.m.
Butler, Huber honoured…
The Sun has picked up two of three B.C. Football Conference player of the week awards.
Defensive lineman Ryley Butler has been named the top defensive player, while Thomas Huber was tabbed as the top special teams player for the second time.
Butler, in his first season in Kelowna, had three of the Sun’s 10 sacks in a 27-3 win over the Vancouver Island Raiders Saturday in Nanaimo.
Huber accounted for 16 points in the win, kicking five field goals and one extra point.
