When Keon Raymond Jr. sprinted down the far sideline and into the end zone, he took an entire city with him.
His 75-yard interception return for a touchdown, late in the third quarter against the Valley Huskers, helped the Prince George Kodiaks earn their first victory in the BC Football Conference, a 28-20 triumph over the Valley Huskers at Masich Place Stadium on Saturday night.
“It felt amazing. We executed the play very well and I played my technique and jumped the route. As a team, we played a hell of a game and it feels really good to get that first win,” added Raymond Jr.
The contest was a chippy affair as it marked the third meeting in a four-week span with the Huskers winning the previous two meetings in Chilliwack by scores of 31-5 and 34-17.
Both teams combined for nearly 300 yards in penalties.
Prince George drew first blood in the opening quarter as a lengthy offensive drive concluded with a one-yard plunge by backup quarterback and local product Andrew Johnson – his first of two in the game.
Reece Wyke proved to be a thorn in the side of the Kodiaks defense rushing for 124 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries in a losing effort for the Chilliwack-based Huskers.
PG ended the first half with a 14-10 lead.
The Kodiaks defensive unit was stout to say the least despite being on the field for much of the third quarter, coming up with a fumble recovery and a blocked field goal.
Raymond Jr’s pick-six and a rushing touchdown by quarterback Liam Oczkowski gave PG a 28-10 advantage in the fourth quarter – sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
Oczkowski ended his night amassing 139 yards through the air while completing 50% of his passes (10-for-20).
However, the focal point of the Kodiak offense was running back Keanu Brown who electrified the home crowd with his speed and toughness.
The Toronto, Ontario product pounded the rock ten times, amassing 76 yards from scrimmage.
Brown told MyPGNow.com after the game the Kodiaks mindset shifted thanks to a bend-but-don’t break effort from the defense.
“To be honest, I think we came into the game thinking we’ve got to fight. We’ve lost a couple games but I told them today that we are a new team and we can’t do the same stuff we’ve been doing. We had to show them something different, we had to be physical and to make sure the job was done,”
“We knew what we had to do,” said Brown. “Everyone did a damn good job today.”
When the clock struck zero, no one was more elated about the win then Kodiaks head coach and director of football operations Keon Raymond.
Raymond, who is a two-time Grey Cup Champion with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders, stated his squad has grown up a lot since the beginning of the season.
“These boys have fought hard all week and all year long and for us to finally put it together and finish a game. Our defence was tremendous, I mean for our first interception to be returned for a touchdown makes me lost for words.”
“I am so proud of these guys.”
With the win, the Kodiaks improve to 1-3 on the season while the Huskers drop to 3-2.
PG will face its stiffest test to date next Saturday when they head to the Apple Bowl in Kelowna to face the undefeated Okanagan Sun (4-0).
The Sun walloped the Vancouver Island Raiders on Saturday by a 58-1 score.
In other action, the Langley Rams (1-3) went into Kamloops and bucked off the Broncos (2-2) by a 24-6 margin.
Langley will visit Masich Place Stadium for a battle with the Kodiaks on September 10th at 7pm.
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