Sun waste point, lose QB

Photo: Contributed

It's hard to know what will hurt more, squandering a single point in a game they should have won, or the potential loss of their starting quarterback.

A wide field goal in the dying seconds and a decision to take an earlier field goal off the board contributed to the 18-18 tie against the Westshore Rebels Saturday in Langford.

But, it's the severity of an injury to Jakob Loucks that could be felt far into the season.

Loucks took a hard hit in the dying moments of the first half, and didn't return, leaving backup Matthew Mahler and a stifling defence to manage a 12-3 halftime lead.

It was the defence and special teams that gave the Sun their halftime advantage.

Isaac Wegman opened the scoring midway through the opening quarter with a 41-yard field goal after the Rebels were stuffed on third and one on their own side of midfield.

The Sun defence came up big again on the next series, forcing the Rebels to punt from deep in their own end. Conor Richard blocked the punt, setting up goal-to-go at the Westshore one.

Loucks walked in on the next play to put the Sun up 10-0.

A Rebels field goal on the final play of the quarter and a conceded safety in punt formation early in the second put the Sun up 12-3 going into the break.

The lead grew to 11 when the Rebels again decided to concede a safety instead of punting out of their end zone.

On their next possession, the Sun drove downfield on the feet of running back Jesse Amankwaa and a roughing the passer penalty.

When the drive stalled, Wegner came in and hit on a 30-yard field goal. But, Westshore was penalized and, instead of taking the sure three, the Sun rolled the dice in hopes of getting more.

They moved inside the Rebels five, but consecutive sacks brought Wegner back onto the field. After a high snap, the kick sailed wide, giving the Sun just a single and a 15-3 lead.

On the ensuing drive, the Rebels stalled deep inside Sun territory, forcing a field goal try. The snap was botched, but the Rebels were able to recover and complete a pass to the Sun two.

After a penalty and incompletion, Mason Brown hit Cody Holmes from 17 yards out to cut the deficit to 15-10 after three.

The teams exchanged safeties early in the final quarter then, with the Sun driving inside Rebels territory and time winding down, Mahler was hit and lost the ball.

Lineman Lowhya Lako scooped it up and rumbled 66 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, giving the Rebels at 18-17 lead with 2:42 to go.

After the Sun were forced to punt, the Rebels were unable to run out the clock, and were also sent into punt formation.

For the second time in the game, the Sun blocked the kick and took over inside the Rebels 35 with a little more than a minute to go.

The Sun drove the ball to the 13, setting Wegner up for a 21-yard attempt. The field goal sailed just to the left and through the end zone, giving the Sun the single point and the 18-18 tie.

Unofficially, first-year defensive lineman Nicholas Dheilly (pron: day-lee) tied a team and league record with five quarterback sacks in the game.

Richard also had a pair of sacks to go along with his blocked punt as the Sun defence created havoc all night.

The Sun road odyssey continues next Saturday when they face the Huskers in Chilliwack.

After an opening week upset of the VI Raiders, the Huskers returned to earth with a thud, losing 42-9 to the Langley Rams.

The Raiders dumped Kamloops 42-0 in the other game, meaning there are no undefeated teams after the second week for the first time in recent memory.