Sun 'D' dominant again

Photo: Wayne Moore - Castanet

The Okanagan Sun defence gets one of a record 11 sacks in Sunday's 28-7 win over the VI Raiders.

The front four of the Okanagan Sun continued its dominance of the Vancouver Island Raiders Sunday.

The unit, led by Jonas Gering and Lucas Machado established a club record with 11 sacks in a stifling 28-7 victory.

The previous record of 10 sacks was set against the same Raiders club in Nanaimo earlier this year.

"He's a great quarterback, he's tough as nails and built like a tree trunk," said lineman Lucas Machado of Nanaimo quarterback Liam O'Brien.

"It's a big rivalry so we just get fired up to play this team. That's what you can attribute that to."

Machado and Gering both had four of the club's 11 sacks. O'Brien was able to muscle his way out of danger or the defence could have easily had a half dozen more.

The defence needed to stand tall on a day when the offence had a hard time getting untracked.

The Sun scored on their first possession after Matt McConnell intercepted O'Brien on the first play of the game giving the offence the ball on the raiders 37 yard line.

After quarterback Cam Bedore ran the ball on four consecutive plays, he hit Lerone Robinson deep in the end zone from 11 yards out and an early 7-0 lead.

What looked to be the makings of a blowout was anything but. The Sun managed just a single on the ensuing kickoff and a pair of conceded safeties by kicker Matias Bueno to take a slim 12-0 lead into the locker room at half time.

"That's a tough team over there. We just couldn't get off to a good start running the ball," said head coach Shane Beatty who celebrated his 46th birthday Sunday.

After gaining 32 yards on the ground during the opening drive, the Sun managed just 44 yards the rest of the half and another 17 yards in the second half.

The aerial attack wasn't much better. Bedore and Josiah Joseph combined to complete just seven of 19 passes for 94 yards, one touchdown and an interception in the second half.

A touchdown by the Raiders following a Dillon Fortune fumble seemed to wake up the offence.

Leading 14-7, Bedore marched the Sun down the field and hit Kyle Kawamoto with an 11 yard strike on the final play of the third quarter. The drive followed the Raiders touchdown.

He drove the team down the field again on the next possession, capping off the drive with a 10 yard strike to Kawamoto. The rookie receiver managed to get one foot in bounds when he hauled in the pass at the back of the end zone.

Neither team did much the rest of the way.

As a team, the Sun now have 28 quarterback sacks in seven games.

"We don't really care who gets the stats on this team. We just know at some point somebody is going to get them. We;re very unselfish. That's why we're having so much success right now," said Machado.

Fans in attendance Sunday were also witness to one of the most heroic efforts in any sporting venue since Bobby Baun returned to the ice with a fractured ankle to score in overtime in the 1964 Stanley Cup final.

Late in the opening half, Sun rookie returner Shamar Donelson was back to receive a Raiders' punt.

The ball hit in front of Donelson and bounced to his right. As Donelson turned, he slumped to the field in pain, holding his right ankle.

With the ball on the turf about 20 yards away, Donelson stood up and hobbled on one leg to where the ball lay and fell on top of it..

Donelson was eventually carried off the field and left for the hospital with his knee wrapped.

"Unbelievable. It was unbelievable the heart he showed there," said Beatty who described the injury as one to the bone under his big foot.

The Sun, 7-0, can officially clinch a second consecutive regular season title with a win at home next Sunday afternoon against the Kamloops Broncos.

"We get Kamloops next week guys, that's my home town. It's going to be fun. I can't wait.

"It's going to be a game. They can run the ball, they can throw the ball."

As unlikely as it is, the Broncos could still win the league title by winning their final three games, including two against the Sun, while the Sun would have to lose their three remaining contests.