The South Delta Sun Devils will need to put a couple of frustrating weeks behind them in a hurry as they prepare to head to Kamloops to open the B.C. high school football playoffs.
The Sun Devils have a Remembrance Day (noon kickoff) date with Vernon's Kalamalka Lakers. The game will be played at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops.
South Delta closed out regular season play with a 32-0 home field loss to the top-ranked John Barsby Bulldogs on Saturday. The game came on the heels of a heartbreaking 19-16 loss to the Handsworth Royals a week earlier, a result that left the locals in fourth place in the Western Conference and cemented their playoff trip to the Okanagan.
"We have already turned the page and are looking ahead to what we have to do," said Sun Devils head coach Ray Moon. "We have just three practices to make sure we will be ready."
The Lakers finished second in the Interior Conference with 6-1 record but if past history is any indication, it wouldn't be a stretch to say the 1-3 Sun Devils would be considered the favourites. The Western Conference features four teams that have been ranked among the top five in the province this season - including current number one Barsby and number three Ballenas - while no Interior team has even been listed as an honourable mention.
"If we play to the level we are capable of then we have a very good opportunity (to advance)," said Moon. "But there are a lot of things that factor into a game like this including travel and likely playing in winter-like conditions that we haven't seen all season."
The Sun Devils also have some key injuries, including leading receiver Mitch Dino, who will definitely be sidelined for a second straight game, while quarterback Kyle Menzies and linebacker Riley Borne are questionable.
The winner will advance to the provincial "AA" quarter-finals, slated for Nov. 18-19 at UBC's Thunderbird Stadium.
