By the time of Saturday鈥檚 (Aug. 30) kick-off, it will have been 28 days since the Okanagan Sun has played at the friendly confines of the Apple Bowl鈥攖wo road games and a bye week, and the month of August is gone.
The first-place Sun (5-0) will look to remain undefeated against the last-place Kamloops Broncos (0-5).
Okanagan has dominated their opponents, outscoring them 207 points to 57. The toughest matchup this season for the Sun was against rival Westshore Rebels. They were down 13 points, with 11 minutes to play, and rallied to win 43-39.
The Broncos have not fared so well. They have only managed to score 42 points in five games, while allowing 167 against. In their season opener, Kamloops was on the wrong end of a 50-7 score versus the V.I. Raiders and over the next four games managed to only score more than 10 points in just two games.
Last week against the Prince George Kodiaks, there was a glimmer of hope for the Broncos鈥擰B Carter Moberg had a promising night going, with 22 of 38 for 301 yards passing, including one touchdown and one interception. His favourite targets were WR Brock Dufort, four catches for 89 yards and one TD, and WR Ty Holmes, six receptions for 107 yards.
However, Kamloops could only muster 32 yards rushing in their fifth straight loss.
In stark contrast to the Broncos season, the Sun are again leading the BC Football Conference (BCFC) standings, and in 12 of the 13 statistic leader categories, they have players that are ranked 1st, 2nd, and/or 3rd in the league.
The undisputed leader of the Sun this season is QB Liam Kroeger, who last week had one of his finest games in an Okanagan uniform. Kroeger completed 17 of 23 passes for 289 yards and two TDs. Combining with backup QB Marcus Christos, the Sun put up a season-high 511 net offensive yards.
Kroeger is ranked second in the BCFC total passed yards category with 1,171. He is just 18 yards behind Westshore QB Gavin Session and second in offensive yards with 1,241.
He was named CJFL and BCFC Offensive Player for the week of Aug. 24 for his performance in a 48-7 win over the Valley Huskers. Kroeger completedi 17 of 23 passes for 289 yards and two TDs.
Keep an eye on BCFC rushing leader RB Gerren Hardisty, who leads the league with 650 yards rushed in five games and a 130 average per game. Hardisty will be looking to add to his league-leading numbers against a defense that gave up 284 yards rushing two weeks ago.
The Sun receiver corps also had their best outing of the year against the Huskers last week, hauling in 395 yards with three touchdowns. Jordayne Falconer, Vincent Chuoi, Jasiah Haliburton, and Seth Famakinde all had more than 60 yards receiving, totaling 278 yards on 14 catches.
Kick-off for Saturday鈥檚 game at the Apple Bowl is 7 p.m. It鈥檚 also being streamed on BCFCTV and broadcast on AM 1150.
