Vancouver Island Raiders edged out in Home Opener
The Vancouver Island Raiders hosted the Okanagan Sun for their 2024 home opener in a thrilling contest that ended in a narrow 31-24 defeat. VI had a lead for a majority of the game and even had a chance to force overtime late in the game but fell short due to some untimely mistakes. Following the game, Coach Shawn Arbasky told of his team “We’re showing our age in terms of being a young team, and being a young team, we made some mistakes at the end of the game that we’re just not ready to win that football game yet”.
The Raiders started strong, with wide receiver Ruben Bonsu setting the tone early. On the opening drive, Bonsu made a highlight-reel catch, leading to a 28 yard field goal and an early 3-0 lead for the Raiders.
The Raiders' defense soon made their presence felt. Linebacker Colton Finstad forced a fumble, which was recovered by Sterling Henry, giving the Raiders possession. Just three plays later, quarterback Sadler Smith connected with Bonsu deep down the right sideline for a spectacular 58-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 10-0.
The Sun responded with a big play of their own, as a receiver slipped past the Raiders' secondary to score. Unfazed, the Raiders answered back with a determined drive, capped by a one-yard plunge into the end zone by Sadler Smith making it 17-7. The Sun quickly answered with a touchdown drive of their own, narrowing the gap to 17-14 late in the 2nd quarter. A strip sack by defensive lineman Ola Adegbite, recovered by Brevan Arnill, ended the first half on a high note for the Raiders.
The Raiders' offense struggled to stay on the field in the 3rd quarter, stalling out due to dropped passes, pressure on their quarterback, and penalties against. A controversial pass interference call on the Raiders set the Sun up on the one-yard line, leading to a touchdown that gave the Sun their first lead at 21-17 late in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, wide receiver Paul Romanoff brought VI back on top with a touchdown over the middle of the defense, making it 24-21. However, the Sun drove the field to tie the game kicking a field goal with 8 minutes remaining in the game.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Raiders' field position advantage was negated by two unnecessary roughness penalties on a punt, pushing them back into their own territory. The Sun had a strip sack on Smith, recovering the ball at the Raiders' 25-yard line. The Sun scored two plays later, taking a 31-24 lead with just over two minutes remaining. A interception by Smith sealed VI’s fate, giving the Sun a 31-24 victory.
VI quarterback Sadler Smith had himself quite the afternoon going 26 of 38 for 339 yards and 3 total touchdowns. When asked about his quarterback’s performance, coach Arbasky had this to say “I think this was Sadler’s coming out game. he plays with a lot of swagger, excited for him to keep getting better”.
Offensively 8 different players caught passes led by Ruben Bonsu who had 8 catches, 147 yards and a touchdown. Paul Romanoff also added 7 catches for a 112 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively a pair of Nanaimo products stood out starting with corner back Felice Toscano who was targeted early and often but rose to the occasion breaking up a number of passes. Rookie Linebacker Colton Finstad was noticeably once again finishing with 5 tackles and one force fumble.
The Raiders have deserved a much better fate the first two weeks of the season. However this team, under coach Arabsky, has proved to be a competitive bunch “I’m really proud of them. I think this game really exudes a lot of confidence for us for the remainder of the season showing that we can play with anybody in this league”.
The Raiders are back in action next Saturday at 6pm when they travel to Kamloops to take on the winless Broncos at Hillside Stadium in week #3.
Submitted by Cole McGarvey
