A depleted Okanagan Sun lineup scraped together 10 points with less than three minutes remaining in the game on Sunday at the Apple Bowl to avoid the embarrassment of losing to the winless Kamloops Broncos and falling out of first place in the B.C. Football Conference.
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Photo Credit: Lorne White/KelownaNowRookie quarterback Matthew Mahler is brought down yard by a pair of Broncos in the second quarter.Isaac Wagner’s single-point punt and 21-yard field goal and Cory McCoy’s 20-yard runback of a fumble recovery salvaged an 18-10 BCFC victory and first place with a 6-2-1 record going into the final weekend of the regular season.
Victims of key injuries and a severe flu bug for most of the week leading up to their second meeting of the season with the Broncos, the Sun looked chipper early on when they scored what turned out to be their only offensive touchdown on the first drive of the game.
Photo Credit: Lorne White/KelownaNowWith Malcolm Miller carrying the ball four times for 50 yards and rookie quarterback, Matthew Mahler completing three of four passes, the Sun went up 6-0 on a six-yard pass to Javen Kaechele.
But after Wagner converted, the Broncos took advantage of a rookie-laden Sun defence to march in for a chip-shot field goal and a nifty Reid Vankoughnett-to-Darian Pritchard TD pass play to take a 10-7 lead — one they would hold on to until the late and desperate Okanagan comeback against a team they defeated 56-6 in their opening game of the season and which is now winless in nine games.
Photo Credit: Lorne White/KelownaNowIsaac Wagner contributed five of the Sun's 18 points.The Sun, on a four-game winning streak, will have an opportunity to clinch first place on Saturday when they play host to the fifth-place Westshore Rebels (3-5-1) at the Apple Bowl beginning at 7 p.m.
In their last meeting in Langford, B.C., the two teams played to an 18-18 draw after the Sun missed a short field gold in the dying seconds of the game.
BCFC Standings
Photo Credit: Lorne White/KelownaNowSun receiver, Adam Burton, is hit hard by Michael Baerg while leaping to get his hands on a Matthew Mahler pass.
Photo Credit: Lorne White/KelownaNowCasey Pyper slides under Broncos' receiver Tim Solypa for a tackle
Photo Credit: Lorne White/KelownaNowQB Matthe Mahler hangs on to teammate James Harney while driving forward in the second quarter.
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