It wasn’t pretty, but the Okanagan Sun pulled out their first win over a team higher in the standings by scoring 16 unanswered points in the second half and defeating the Vancouver Island Raiders 19-14 in B.C. Football Conference play at the Apple Bowl on Sunday.

A 34-yard Alex Douglas pass to Chan Lual in the endzone with 2:06 remaining in the game completed the comeback that saw the Kelowna-based Sun avenge a 37-13 loss to the Raiders on Aug. 24; improve to 5-4; and move into sole possession of third place in the BCFC.

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Following a first half in which the Sun managed just 52 net yards on offence while the Raider had accumulated 257 and built up a 14-3 lead, the hosts came to life on their first possession in the third quarter.

Douglas found all-everything, Conor Richard, with a 25-yard second-and-10 pass to midfield. The New Brunswick native, who played on both sides of the ball on Sunday, ran the rest of the field — 55 yards — into the endzone.

The Sun got to within a point early in the fourth quarter when Isaac Wegner was good on his second 30-yard field goal on the day after Douglas had snuck a yard along the ground on a third-and-one play.

The winning TD was set up when Cole Stregger recovered the loose ball on a Raiders’ attempted punt on VI’s 45-yard line. The Kelowna Secondary School grad also helped snuff out a late Raiders surge with an interception.

While the Sun gained 189 net yards in the second half compared to the Raiders’ 127, they still fell short overall with 241 yards to VI’s 384.

Douglas completed nine of 20 passes for 167 yards, with Richard catching three for 108 yards and Tyson Mastrodimos three for 16.

Along the ground, Kelton Kouri led the Sun with 77 yards on 16 carries while Douglas was forced out of the pocket to run seven times for 32 yards.

Defensively, linebacker Brenden Ripco led the way with seven tackles and three assists and a special-teams tackle. Tyler Going added four tackles and an interception while Stregger and Mitch Walz both contributed a pick.

The Sun have a bye this week and will try to nail down third-place on Oct. 20 in Victoria when they take on the Westshore Rebels (7-2), who recorded a 16-13 win in their previous meeting on Aug. 17.

A victory by the Sun would assure a semifinal matchup with the Rebels in Victoria.

Photo Gallery (94 photos) on KelownaNowSports Facebook page

Photo Gallery (94 photos) on KelownaNowSports Facebook page