It鈥檚 been said that football games are won and lost on the line of scrimmage and 2014 has been a losing battle for the Howe Sound Sounders.
The high school football team has failed to win a game so far this season and that trend continued with a 28-6 loss to the Earl Marriott Mariners in Surrey on Friday (Sept. 26).
Sounders coach Jim Errington said line play has been the downfall to his team this season.
鈥淥ur offense put our defense in a bad situation a number of times against the Mariners with mistakes, turnovers and allowing their defense to score six,鈥� he said in an email. 鈥淏ut our main issue is the line of scrimmage. Every game is determined by the team who controls the line of scrimmage and right now we are not controlling it on either side.鈥�
The Mariners excelled on the ground against the Sounders, picking up 110 yards rushing and adding 45 yards passing. Howe Sound鈥檚 Andrew Pelletier had a solid game defensively, with a team-high: five tackles and one fumble recovery. Brandon Nguyen added four tackles and Rolan Mendoza picked up three tackles.
Josh Edmunds led the way offensively for Howe Sound, scoring the Sounders lone touchdown and picking up 53 yards rushing and 36 yards receiving. Turnovers hurt the Sounders on offense, as the team threw one interception and committed two fumbles.
Friday鈥檚 game was considered the unofficial start to the Tier II Varsity regular season after the BCTF鈥檚 dispute with the provincial government closed schools to start the year.
The Sounders hit the road again on Friday (Oct. 3) when they take on the Burnaby Central Secondary Wildcats. Howe Sound鈥檚 division consists of the Mariners, the Wildcats, the Eric Hamber Secondary Griffins and the Timberline Secondary School Wolves.
The next home game for the Sounders isn鈥檛 until Oct. 25 when they host Timberline. Also scheduled is the annual Black Tusk Bowl against the Pemberton Grizzlies. The third annual exhibition game occurs in Pemberton on Oct. 11.
For more details on Tier II Varsity football visit www.bchighschoolfootball.com.
