Tye Kitzman had the kind of 2017 campaign that turned the heads of his junior football peers乌鸦传媒攐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乌鸦传媒檚 resume was missing the most important entry of all乌鸦传媒攁 Canadian championship.
A new chapter begins
乌鸦传媒� 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乌鸦传媒檚 prospects of challenging for a national title in 2018.
乌鸦传媒淚 think this is one of the best, if not the best team we乌鸦传媒檝e had since I乌鸦传媒檝e been here,乌鸦传媒� said Kitzman, the fourth-year defensive back who made 37 tackles last season, second best on the Sun. 乌鸦传媒淲e have a lot of good young guys, some new guys with experience coming in, and really good group of veterans. Everybody乌鸦传媒檚 excited to get going and start our run at a Canadian championship.乌鸦传媒�
Kitzman and the Sun will kick off their quest for a national crown this Sunday in Kamloops against the Broncos.
It乌鸦传媒檚 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乌鸦传媒檛 play its first home game until Sept. 8 and while it乌鸦传媒檚 a long wait for the team乌鸦传媒檚 players and fans, Kitzman thinks it just might work in the club乌鸦传媒檚 favour.
乌鸦传媒淭here乌鸦传媒檚 nothing we can do about the schedule, so we need to deal with it the best we can,乌鸦传媒� said Kitzman. 乌鸦传媒淭here are pros and cons, we won乌鸦传媒檛 have the home crowd for a while乌鸦传媒ut if we can build up some wins early, we乌鸦传媒檒l have five of our last six games at home, heading into the playoffs. That could be an advantage for us.乌鸦传媒�
As for the composition of this year乌鸦传媒檚 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.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 been a long offseason, we乌鸦传媒檝e made a lot of key personnel decisions, and put together a team we really like, so now it乌鸦传媒檚 time to test ourselves,乌鸦传媒� said Macauley. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 not a finished piece of work. There乌鸦传媒檚 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.乌鸦传媒�
The Sun and Broncos will kick off the BCFC regular season Sunday at 4 p.m. at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops.
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