The Okanagan Sun would love nothing more than to sail into the Labour Day bye with an unbeaten record, alone atop the B.C. Football Conference standings.

To sail home from Nanaimo tonight in that enviable position at the midpoint of the junior football season, the Sun (4-0) must win a first-place showdown at Caledonia Park this afternoon against the host Vancouver Island Raiders (3-1).

The teams have yet to meet this year, with the return game of this home-and-home scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 10, at the Apple Bowl in Kelowna.

The result that separates the Sun from the Raiders to date was an Okanagan win over the defending BCFC champion Westshore Rebels of Victoria, 19-15 in Week 1.

Vancouver Island dropped a 27-25 decision to Westshore at Nanaimo in Week 2 for the Raiders’ only loss.

The Rebels will almost certainly improve to 4-1 today in hosting the winless Valley Huskers of Chilliwack (0-4).

So a Raiders victory over the Sun would see a three-way tie for first place heading into the bye week.

An Okanagan triumph and the Sun would control their own fate in the second half.

The Raiders are coming off an impressive 51-10 smashing of the visiting Kamloops Broncos in Week 4, while the Sun had a field day with the Huskers in a 71-7 shellacking last Saturday at the Apple Bowl.

That blowout featured several standout performances for Okanagan, including a breakout effort by 21-year-old defensive back Aldrich Berrios, who tied a franchise record with four interceptions and finished with five turnovers after also recovering a fumbled kick return.

Berrios, a two-sport athlete who stars for the UBC Okanagan men’s basketball team, hadn’t played football since his high-school days in the Lower Mainland, but he’s made an immediate impact for the Sun and stole the show with three straight picks in the fourth quarter against Chilliwack.

Yet, Berrios was forced to share the BCFC defensive player of the week honours with Quinton Bowles of the Raiders, who tied a BCFC and Canadian Junior Football League record with five quarterback sacks against Kamloops, plus one tackle and another assisted tackle.

Bowles, a defensive lineman returning from the Manitoba Bisons (U Sports), was a boon to the Raiders’ defence and will be looking to chase down Okanagan’s QB today — be it incumbent Keith Zyla, expected to return from a lower-body injury, or backup Nick Wenman, who has been efficient in leading the Sun to three straight victories, highlighted by throwing four touchdown passes in the first half against the Huskers.

The Raiders also boast the reigning special teams’ player of the week in returner Brycen Mayoh, who ran back two touchdowns against the Broncos — a 128-yard missed field goal (BCFC record) and a 68-yard punt.

Doubling as a receiver, Mayoh racked up a whopping 402 all-purpose yards last week and the Sun will need to do a better job of containing him.

Today’s other game is a battle between 1-3 clubs as Kamloops hosts the Langley Rams.