The 32-0 score on Saturday might not indicate it and loss is still a loss, but for the Prince George Kodiaks their improvement on the football field compared to last season was highly apparent.
As expected, the defending national-champion Okanagan Sun, a team that went undefeated last year in its romp to the Canadian Bowl title, showed its pedigree against the Kodiaks team still finding its feet after losing nine of 10 games in the inaugural 2022 season.
A rambunctious crowd of about 1,100 filled the bleachers at Masich Place Stadium and they witnessed a Kodiaks team that showed, especially on defence, it knows what it’s supposed to be doing. They made tackles, kept pass coverage tight and limited the big plays the Sun are known for breaking.
The P.G. offence shot itself in the foot a few times, especially in the first half when they had their chances in the red zone, and later in the game when they allowed a blocked field goal. Although unable to punch the ball into the end zone, Jamie Boreham’s crew has made obvious progress.
They limited the Sun to a just one touchdown and two field goals in the first half. But the rain that came and stayed for in the final 30 minutes favoured the Sun and their ground-pounders – especially running backs Aiden Wieberg, Sam Melanson and Tristen Peddle.
Despite the game experience and obvious skill the Sun possess as the team beat again in the B.C. Football Conference the Kodiaks hung around and only rarely gave up the big play long-gainer.
“We started off slow and I know I had some personal problems at the start, but it’s how you bounce back,” said Kodiaks linebacker Nock Tremblay. “Starting off against the defending national champions, we play them two more times this year and the only way is to go up. We’ve got the dogs on this team to compete, we just have to put the pieces together. Day by day we get better and better and we’ll take this as a learning lesson.”
A 32-point loss isn’t close, but there were enough positive signs of progress to give the Kodiak faithful reason to believe this year’s team will not suffer a 1-9 season in 2023.
“I think we competed, so there are some positives to take out of this,” said Boreham, Kodiaks head coach. “The negatives are too many penalties, too many mental errors. Sure, physically, we improved throughout the game but it’s not the level for us to be successful. Execution-wise, they were better.
“We’re looking for that consistency. Our receivers put balls on the ground. Our run game was non-existent. Our o-line has to be better to protect the quarterback, we’ve got to be able to run the football. We had better success in the second half.”
Prince George quarterbacks Sam Sabine, a pocket passer, and Quinn Neukomm, the scrambler, both got their share of reps and did what they could to spur the Prince George offence but Sun weren’t budging, still stocked with plenty of holdovers from last year, a team that allowed just 13.5 points per game.
“We all fought hard and we were a little nervous, first game back hoping to make a stand, but I think we played a decent game,” said Neukomm. “They’re great team and they had a lot to build on, we just have to work harder and I think we’ll have a chance next time.”
The Sun countered with Liam Kroeger and Adam Rocha, who looked well-seasoned and made very few mistakes while leaning on their offensive line to find holes for the ball carriers. The play of the game was Jasiah Haliburton’s TD catch right at the sideline when he reached up to gram Rocha’s throw in tight double coverage, with Hayden Matheson and Peyton Briere draped all over him.
The Kodiaks have nearly two weeks to prepare for their next game Aug. 12 against the Westshore Rebels at Masich.
