The Valley Huskers are going to take it on the chin tonight, again.
That’s a foregone conclusion even before kicking off their Week 4 contest against the Okanagan Sun — 7 p.m. at the Apple Bowl in Kelowna — and there’s no sugarcoating it for the Chilliwack-based club.
“We certainly don’t want to take them lightly,” Ben Macauley, Okanagan’s second-year head coach, said ahead of tonight’s first-versus-worst matchup between the unbeaten Sun (3-0) and winless Huskers (0-3).
“We have to make sure we’re not taking for granted every game that should be a win. We still have to go out and earn it.”
True, but this is going to be an inevitable beatdown.
The Huskers have been outscored 120-8 to date, including a season-opening 41-8 loss to the Kamloops Broncos, the other non-playoff team from last year.
The Sun blanked the Broncos 36-0 the following week, while also beating two perceived contenders in the defending B.C. Football Conference champion Westshore Rebels of Victoria, 19-15, and most recently the Langley Rams, 34-17 on the road.
The Huskers have since suffered consecutive shutout losses at home the past two weekends, 39-0 to Langley and 40-0 to the Vancouver Island Raiders of Nanaimo.
There wouldn’t even be a betting line for this sure blowout and, crazy as it sounds, the Huskers will be lucky to get a point tonight against a talented and deep Sun squad that will likely be sending out its second- and third-stringers before halftime.
“We need to come out with a strong start, if we want to be able to get guys reps,” said Macauley, admitting the Sun plan to rest a number of starters who are nursing minor injuries — including incumbent quarterback Keith Zyla, who sat out the wins over Kamloops and Langley with a lower-body injury, while backup Nick Wenman filled in admirably.
The Sun have historically manhandled the Huskers, including a 56-14 season-opening road victory in their only meeting last year.
In 2015, under former coach Shane Beatty, the Sun hammered the Huskers 64-0 on the road and 66-3 at home.
Okanagan won’t intentionally run up the score tonight, with Macauley being sympathetic to Chilliwack’s ongoing struggles.
“It’s a tough situation for them,” Macauley said. “I’m not really surprised, based on them having to start from scratch once again. You’re trying to build something positive and I’m really fortunate with the situation I came into, with tons of support from the community and from our board. Not to mention the years of experience from everyone here and being a storied franchise.
“I can only imagine the difficulty that Bob’s walked into there in Chilliwack,” Macauley continued, referencing new Huskers bench boss Bob Reist, a former assistant with the University of Manitoba. “I feel for him, but I think if he keeps doing things the right way and they keep a positive attitude, good things are going to come their way and it’s only a matter of time before they are in a competitive situation again.”
Despite the lopsided defeats thus far, the Huskers do have some talented athletes on their roster, including the reigning defensive player of the week — Danny Harris, a rookie defensive back from Winnipeg who is tied with Okanagan’s Tye Kitzman, from Vernon, for the most interceptions in the BCFC, with three.
Harris had two picks, plus six tackles on defence, one tackle on special teams and one batted ball while getting routed by the Raiders last Saturday.
Huskers quarterback Noah Falconer isn’t off to a great start in his sophomore season — throwing only one touchdown pass and a league-high six interceptions through three games — but he was in the conversation for rookie of the year in 2016 thanks to leading the BCFC in passing yards (2,398) and touchdown passes (19) for last-place Chilliwack.
“They still have some playmakers, and everything we’ve heard and seen so far leads us to believe that they’re going to be a physical team and they’re not just going to lay down and take a beating,” Macauley said of the Huskers, who host the Sun in a return game at Chilliwack on Sept. 16.
As for the decision to stick with Wenman under centre, Macauley said: “We want Keith at 100 per cent before he’s back, not at 85 or 90 per cent. We’re expecting that will happen either this week or next. Fortunately, Nick’s in a good rhythm right now and we can keep him in there for the time being (against Chilliwack). And hope to have Keith ready, 100 per cent, for next week (against Nanaimo).”
