The Valley Huskers got whomped in their 2017 season opener, falling 41-8 to the Kamloops Broncos on Saturday.
The game was played at Hillside Stadium.
The Huskers and Broncos are expected to duke it out at the bottom of the B.C. Football Conference standings, and the game was competitive up until halftime.
The Broncos led 16-8 at the break and broke the game open in the third quarter, led by quarterback Colby Henkel.
The Kamloops pivot won the battle of QBs vs Husker Noah Falconer, completing 18 of 27 passes for 225 yards and two majors.
Henkel hooked up with Tim Solypa and Brody Bernier on scoring strikes while also throwing an interception.
Falconer struggled against a supposedly weak Kamloops D, competing just six of 20 passes for 47 yards.
The Abbotsford native chucked a six yard touchdown pass to Nathan Desnoyers but also served up an interception to Cole Avery.
No Husker receiver produced more than 15 yards, total, with Denver Lebedow and Kolby Dyck hitting that mediocre mark.
The Huskers gained 83 yards on the ground led by Keegan Vicklund’s 51 yards on 14 carries. Vicklund ripped off a 21 yarder and averaged 3.64 yards per pop.
In a game that lacked explosive plays, no one on either saide had a gain longer than 29 yards, but Kamloops ground out 147 yards and three scores on the ground.
Jacob Tubajon efficiently scored two touchdowns on four carries while Andrew Pocrnic also found the endzone. The big boot of Kamloops kicker Bryce Couture counted for a 28 yard field goal and a single point on a missed 63 yarder.
Chilliwack kicker Danny Harris showed his leg strength, booting a kickoff 85 yards for a single point.
He added a convert on the Husker major.
Chilliwack’s defence got interceptions from Desmond Jeanson and Danny Harris and a fumble recovery from Josh Robinson.Tristan Fournier had a quarterback sack and Alex Zamora led the D with four tackles.
Zamora’s Huskers return home Saturday to face the Langley Rams with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Exhibition Stadium.
- The Rams will be a grumpy bunch after dropping their home opener at McLeod Park.
Langley was upset 20-13 by the Vancouver Island Raiders despite getting a touchdown run from Chilliwack native and ex-Husker Brett Westad.
- The featured game of the weekend saw the Okanagan Sun dump the defending B.C. Football Conference champion Westshore Rebels 19-5 at the Apple Bowl in Kelowna.
For more info see bcfootballconference.com