Okanagan Sun come back from a 20-point deficit, rally past Westshore 43-39

Story Courtesy Wayne Moore Castanet

Surely the Okanagan Sun game plan doesn’t include escaping from a deep hole on the road against the Westshore Rebels in mid-August.

It just seems that way.

In a battle of the lone unbeaten teams in the BC Football Conference, the Sun stumbled and bumbled their way to a 20-point deficit at Starlight Stadium in Langford five minutes into the third quarter.

But, as they did a year ago almost to the day when they fell behind 14 late, the Sun rallied, thanks in part to a questionable third-down gamble and a vicious defensive front four for a thrilling 43-39 win.

The game turned midway through the fourth quarter when the Rebels, leading by six at the time, tried a fake punt on third and one at their own 29.

The up back bobbled the direct snap and was buried behind the line of scrimmage.

Sun ball at the 27.

A 10-yard illegal substitution penalty, two plays of six yards and a four-yard face mask penalty later set up Liam Kroeger’s one-yard sneak giving the Sun their first lead of the game with six minutes to go.

Liam Attwood booted a 29-yard field goal, then the defence took over, sacking Rebels quarterback Gavin Session on three consecutive plays to seal the win.

The comeback came as the Sun looked to do everything to give the game away, turning the ball over five times including four fumbles, and committing costly penalties at very inopportune times.

Session, the league leader in touchdown passes and Zion Brown, by far the top receiver in the BCFC shredded the Sun secondary over the first 50 minutes.

Session tossed five touchdown passes, four to Brown as the Rebels built up a 24-12 lead at halftime and appeared to quash any comeback attempt when the two hooked up on a 51-yard major four minutes into the final quarter after the Sun had cut the deficit to six. But the Sun struck right back. Taking possession at the 40 after the kickoff bounced out of bounds, Kroeger moved the team downfield quickly, hitting Gerren Hardisty for 55 yards on a backdoor screen then finding Jasiah Haliburton from 15 yards out to again cut the deficit to six.

Penalties, which have haunted the aggressive Sun all season, nearly buried them in the first half.

Horse collar and roughing the passer penalties led to the Rebels first touchdown, a contacting the kicker penalty extended a drive that led to a first quarter field goal while rough play and pass interference calls contributed to a touchdown drive that out the Rebels up 17-3 midway through the second quarter.

They committed just four penalties in the second half.

Backup quarterback Marcus Cristos, who runs the short yardage package, ran for two touchdowns, giving him a league-leading five on the season.

Kroeger had his best day as a Sun quarterback, throwing for 316 yards, two touchdowns and a meaningless interception on a Hail Mary on the final play of the first half.

Vincent Chuoi caught four passes for 103 yards including a 63 yard touchdown strike.

Hardisty carried the ball 24 times for 142 yards and caught two balls for 64 yards as he eclipsed the 200 yard mark for the second straight game.

The Sun amassed 483 yards of total offence. The Rebels put up 329 yards including 263 through the air.

The defence forced three turnovers including a pair of interceptions by Tariq Brown who now has a league-best four on the season.

It’s a big win for the Sun, who not only handed the Rebels their first loss of the season, but have a leg up as the teams are expected to battle for top spot all season long and home field advantage through the playoffs.

The Sun, 4-0 on the season, get a bye next week before travelling to Chilliwack to face the Huskers Aug. 23.

Their next home game is Saturday, Aug. 30 when they entertain the Kamloops Broncos.