For the third time in three years, the Okanagan Sun and Westshore Rebels will face off in the Cullen Cup, the British Columbia Football Conference (BCFC) finals.
The Sun punched their ticket to finals in convincing fashion, with a 50-19 win over the Valley Huskers on Saturday, Oct. 12 at the Apple Bowl.
Despite putting up 50 points, it wasn't the cleanest start to the game for the Sun. The team opened the scoring early in the first quarter with a 23-yard catch and run touchdown from running back Elelyon Noa but then the offence slowed down.
The Huskers quickly responded with a six-play, 76-year drive capped off by a 29-year touchdown pass from quarterback Tyran Duval to wide receiver Steve Koniuck. Duval threw for another touchdown and Valley added a field goal to go up 17-7.
The Sun's defence made a huge play in the second quarter as Duval threw this second interception of the game. This led to Noa's second touchdown of the game. Okanagan then came up a safety to be down 19-15.
But with just over a minute remaining in the first half, the Sun got the ball at midfield where quarterback Marek Filipek threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Burden, making it 22-19 Sun at halftime.
In total, the Sun's defence had seven interceptions on the night, including two pick-sixes - a 45-yard return from Easton Fenske and a 62-yard TD from Vincente Ferreira. Quarterback Liam Kroeger also led the Sun to two more touchdowns in the second half to cap off the 50-19 win.
With the win, the Sun will host the Westshore Rebels in the BCFC Championship game on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Apple Bowl. Westshore beat Langley 25-21 to advance to the championship game.
Kick off for Saturday's contest is at 3 p.m.