Okanagan Sun rout Westshore to win second straight Cullen Cup

Photo Courtesy Wayne Moore

Story Courtesy Wayne Moore

The Okanagan Sun are once again BC Football Conference champions.

For the second straight year and third time in four years, the Sun hoisted the Cullen Cup following a 45-26 rout of the Westshore Rebels - a score that flattered the visitors.

The Sun put this one to bed early, grabbing a 14-0 lead after one quarter, then taking a 17-point lead into the locker room.

Quarterback Liam Kroeger masterfully engineered four touchdown drives in the opening half, none more important than a nine-play drive in the final two minutes of the half after the Rebels had cut the deficit to 10.

Kroeger matched the Sun 75 yards in the final 1:41, aided by a 15-yard face mask penalty, and capped it off by calling his own number from one yard out.

It was his second rushing touchdown of the game after sprinting 18 yards for paydirt earlier in the quarter.

Kroeger hit Jordayne Falconer on a 34-yard strike and Seth Famakinde from 20 yards out in the opening quarter.

Backup quarterback Marcus Christos ran in the other Sun touchdowns from seven and two yards out in the second half.

On the other side of the ball, the front four made things uncomfortable for Rebels quarterback Gavin Session all game long. They got to him four times but forced him to scramble for his life on numerous other occasions, creating ill-advised passes and poor throws in the process.

Defensive player of the year JaQuintis Summers had three of those sacks while the secondary picked Session off on three other occasions.

“It was a heck of a game,” understated Sun head coach Travis Miller.

“I thought Westshore had a great game plan. Obviously, we had to come out and execute the best we could, and we were fortunate the way we came out.”

Leading 24-7 with under six minutes to go in the opening half, defensive lineman Mitchell Hickingbottom picked off Session on a pass that was deflected at the line.

After failing to gain a first down, Miller, never shy of gambling on third down, decided to pass up a 35-yard field goal try and instead left the offence on the field on third and five from the Rebels' 28. Westshore intercepted Kroeger and marched down the field to cut the deficit to 10.

It was a play reminiscent of the last time Westshore was in town when the Sun went for it on third-and-two, a decision Miller would later regret.

“At that time, we felt that if we scored, it would add to the game, and we really felt we could put them away.

“Our guys played excellently and I couldn't help myself at that point, I guess.”

Kroeger, the offensive MVP of the game, passed for 240 yards in the first half and 294 total while also running the ball four times for 36 yards and the two scores.

Along with getting constant pressure on Session, the secondary also did a great job of blanketing the leading receiver and offensive player of the year, Zion Brown.

The defence held Brown to four catches for 70 yards and a touchdown, well below his season average.

The Rebels managed just 287 yards of total offence, including a mere 56 yards on the ground.

The Sun meantime put up 476 yards in total offence, including 218 on the ground.

While league rushing champion Gerrren Hardisty didn’t find the end zone, he did carry the ball 18 times for 140 yards, including a backbreaking 58-yard scamper in the third quarter that set up a seven-yard Christos touchdown that put the Sun ahead by three scores.

The Sun now host the Ontario Football Conference champions in next Saturday’s national semi-final.