Turek busting records in B.C.

 

Dan Turek is a standout wide receiver with the Okanagan Sun.

It is a record-setting season for Winnipeg's Dan Turek, a receiver with the Okanagan Sun of the British Columbia Football Conference.

Turek, a wideout in his fourth Sun season, set a team record for most receiving yards in a game when he caught eight passes for 227 yards on Sept. 17 in a 69-0 win over the Westshore Rebels.

"It was my best game of the year, maybe my best game ever," laughed Turek, 20, a graduate of Winnipeg's Maples Collegiate and Manitoba's provincial teams program. "I had no idea it was even coming close to a record. It meant a lot to me to have that kind of a breakout game. I hadn't done that lately."

The 6-foot-3 Turek was the BCFC rookie-of-the-year in 2008 and a Canadian Junior Football League all-Canadian in 2009. This season, he moved into the Sun's veteran receiver role with the graduation of Matt Scheurwater, who held the former single-game record of 226 yards in 2009.

Though Turek has been in Kelowna since he was 17, it turned out a little home cooking came his way to help set up his record day. Sun quarterback Jeremy Joseph-Mraovic is from Winnipeg, a graduate of Elmwood High School, who had an equally big day. Joseph-Mraovic passed for 429 yards, the second most for a single game in team history, and his 20-yard touchdown strike to Turek was one of four to four different receivers.

"Me and Jeremy Joseph, we connected just great," said Turek.

He and Turek played on Manitoba's provincial team together. "We've always joked around in practice. He says to me, 'I want to make you an all-Canadian again!' And I say, 'I want to make you look good too, man!' So now that we have that chemistry down, it's awesome."

There's three games left in the season for the 6-1 Sun, who host the Kamloops Broncos (1-6) on Sunday. The Okanagan squad is chasing a second straight berth in the BCFC championship. The Sun lost 16-14 to Vancouver Island Raiders in last year's BCFC final.

Having a big finish to the season would only help Turek's stock with the B.C. Lions. He attended the Canadian Football League team's free agent camp last April and was then invited to the rookie camp in Kamloops, B.C., in July. He earned an invitation to the main camp and was one of the final releases before the first exhibition game.

"It's was an amazing experience, I was out there with Geroy Simon and Paris Jackson and catching passes from Travis Lulay, working with those guys, I was just in heaven," Turek said. "Playing in the CFL has been a dream of mine for years. When I get on the field I play for the Okanagan Sun, but in the back of my mind, I know if I can do that well enough, maybe there will be an opportunity with the Lions."

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca