Okanagan Sun clinch BCFC regular season title, Elelyon Noa sets team rushing record

Photo: Marissa Baecker - Shoot The Breeze

It was obvious early in Saturday’s BCFL showdown between the Okanagan Sun and Westshore Rebels.

The Sun planned to run the football - a lot, while the Rebels were focused on stopping it at all costs, swarming to the football every time the nation’s leading rusher Elelyon Noa touched the ball.

It was not easy sledding, as the Rebels held Noa to three yards or fewer on 13 of his carries but, Noa being Noa got his yards and eventually wore down the Rebels defence.

When the dust had settled, Noa carried the ball 41 times for 253 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-10 win over the Rebels, clinching first place in the BCFC and home field advantage throughout the league playoffs.

The 253 yards gives Noa 1,405 on the season, breaking the old mark of 1,367 set by Malcolm Miller in 2021.

The 41 carries also shatters James Green’s record of 30 carries in a game and fell one short of the league record of 42 and three shy of the CJFL record of 44.

The Sun needed every yard Noa gained in a defensive tussle that wasn’t decided until the fourth quarter when the Sun took advantage of a tiring Rebels defence and good field position.

Deadlocked at 10 early in the fourth quarter, the Rebels decided to punt out of their own end zone instead of conceding a safety. The plan backfired.

Taking possession on the Westshore 33, Noa ate up all 33 yards on six carries, capped off with his second one-yard run of the game, giving the Sun a 17-10 lead they would not relinquish.

On their next possession the Sun needed just eight plays from the Westshore 53, all on the ground, to put the game away.

Noa did much of the heavy lifting before Tristen Peddle barged his way in from five yards out.

The Rebels led 10-3 midway through the second quarter thanks to Oluwaferanmi Okunola’s 73 yard interception return for a touchdown, but a fumble recovery by Vincente Ferreira late in the half gave the Sun the ball on the Rebels 38.

Five runs and a pass put the ball on the Rebels one where Noa would not be denied.

“I think we decided early on that we were going to commit to the run game and instead of it panning out like the week before for Langley, we ended up getting stopped short on three and two yard gains,” said head coach Travis Miller of the game plan.

“The passing game wasn’t clicking early on. We had some great plays by our rookie quarterback, but at the end of the day it was a situation where we had to figure out our spot.

At the end of the day, it’s two great teams playing football.”

Marek Filipek was just nine of 22 for 111 yards and a pair of interceptions.

On the defensive side, it was just another day at the office for a squad that has not yielded a touchdown in five of the last seven games, including three shutouts. Ahmed Borhot registered his league-leading eighth interception of the season while Kenley Williams picked off his fourth of the campaign.

Noa incidentally is just 200 yards away from the BCFC single season rushing record of 1,604.

He and the Sun shoot for a perfect season next Saturday afternoon when they entertain the Valley Huskers is a game with huge playoff implications for the Huskers, Rebels and Rams who are all battling for positioning behind the Sun.

The Huskers, who walloped the Rams Saturday, are deadlocked with Westshore at 5-3 while the Rams sit at 6-3.