The Valley Huskers wrapped up the B.C. Football Conference regular season on a winning note, topping the Kamloops Broncos 32-29 Saturday (Oct. 8) at Exhibition Stadium.
There wasn’t a ton of defence played on either side, with the rivals combining to roll up 881 net yards.
The Huskers had 457, a big chunk of it coming from running back Reece Wyke. The talented tailback secured the BCFC rushing title, carrying the ball 28 times for 169 yards (6.03 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. Wyke finished the season with 1,905 yards, 175 more than Okanagan Sun RB Jevan Garwood.
Chilliwack’s passing game was OK.
Quarterback Josh Janssen completed 12 of 20 passes for 234 yards and one major. The touchdown toss went to Eathan Porter. Payton Lake was the top Husker receiver with four grabs for 79 yards.
Chilliwack got three points off a Jaiden Claassen field goal and a single off an Aidan Saunders punt into the endzone.
“The offence has continued to progress well throughout the season,” said Huskers head coach Bob Reist. “We have a young group of receivers really coming into their own. Josh continues to deliver with confidence and our running game has been very effective. We like where we are at with this group.”
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The Broncos rolled up most of their yards through the air, relying on the arm of former Huskers pivot Reid Vankoughnett. The QB completed 26 of 44 passes for 331 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. Colton Meikle caught 11 balls for 150 yards and a touchdown. Brock Dufort had four for 127 and Kaleb Senz had nine for 97.
The Huskers bottled up the Broncos ground game, holding the visitors to 57 yards on 11 carries. Senz had two rushing TDs and Vankoughnett scrambled for another.
Chilliwack’s Chavis Spencer and Zac Badke each had interceptions and Andy Ofusuhene recovered a fumble. Ofusuhene and Tyson Hulgan added quarterback sacks and Christopher Rolack led the Huskers with five solo tackles.
The D has had better days, but Reist said he has no concerns with that side of the ball.
“Our defence has done a great job all year putting pressure on opposing offences and creating turnovers,” he said. “There’s a lot of talented offensive players in this league. You can’t expect to shut everyone out and our defence has done a great job putting us in positions to be successful.”
The Huskers finish the regular season with a record of 7-3, good for third place in the seven-team standings.
They hit the road for the playoffs, traveling to Victoria this weekend (Oct. 15) to face the second-place Westshore Rebels (7-3). The Huskers and Rebels split the season series, with Westshore winning 38-17 in week two and Chilliwack winning 28-10 in week nine.
“Westshore is a very talented football team,” Reist said. “They are solid in all three aspects of the game and we will need our best effort on Sunday.
“We look forward to the opportunity.”
The undefeated Okanagan Sun (10-0) take on the Langley Rams (5-5) in the other semi-final.
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