Tye Kitzman had the kind of 2017 campaign that turned the heads of his junior football peers鈥攐pponents and teammates alike.
The 21-year-old Vernon product was an ominous and constant presence in the defensive secondary, delivering punishing hits, while making a league-leading six interceptions.
The end result for Kitzman was a unanimous nod as a B.C. Football Conference all-star, followed by all-Canadian recognition.
Still, following a loss to the Westshore Rebels last October, Kitzman鈥檚 resume was missing the most important entry of all鈥攁 Canadian championship.
A new chapter begins
鈥� Okanagan Sun (@okanagan_sun)
With the talent and depth the Sun coaching staff assembled during an aggressive off-season of recruiting, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Kitzman likes the club鈥檚 prospects of challenging for a national title in 2018.
鈥淚 think this is one of the best, if not the best team we鈥檝e had since I鈥檝e been here,鈥� said Kitzman, the fourth-year defensive back who made 37 tackles last season, second best on the Sun. 鈥淲e have a lot of good young guys, some new guys with experience coming in, and really good group of veterans. Everybody鈥檚 excited to get going and start our run at a Canadian championship.鈥�
Kitzman and the Sun will kick off their quest for a national crown this Sunday in Kamloops against the Broncos.
It鈥檚 the first of four straight road games to open the BCFC regular season, due to renovations to the track at the Apple Bowl.
The Sun won鈥檛 play its first home game until Sept. 8 and while it鈥檚 a long wait for the team鈥檚 players and fans, Kitzman thinks it just might work in the club鈥檚 favour.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing we can do about the schedule, so we need to deal with it the best we can,鈥� said Kitzman. 鈥淭here are pros and cons, we won鈥檛 have the home crowd for a while鈥ut if we can build up some wins early, we鈥檒l have five of our last six games at home, heading into the playoffs. That could be an advantage for us.鈥�
As for the composition of this year鈥檚 club, head coach Ben Macauley said the Sun possesses depth all across the board, particularly in the trenches where both the offensive and defensive lines are loaded with grit and skill.
Still, as good as the Sun looks on paper and in practise, Macauley said the real test begins Sunday in Kamloops and in the subsequent weeks to follow.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long offseason, we鈥檝e made a lot of key personnel decisions, and put together a team we really like, so now it鈥檚 time to test ourselves,鈥� said Macauley. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a finished piece of work. There鈥檚 pressure for guys to step up now and do as expected, but we also expect to see some surprises, players who have been waiting for their turn to play big roles to step up.鈥�
The Sun and Broncos will kick off the BCFC regular season Sunday at 4 p.m. at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops.
To report a typo, email: edit@kelownacapnews.com.
<>
newstips@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on .
