The Friday night lights didn鈥檛 end up being too kind for the Howe Sound Sounders.
The football season is officially in the books for the Sounders after suffering a 20-14 loss in round one of the Tier 2 playoffs to the Earl Marriott Mariners in Burnaby on Friday (Nov. 14).
Howe Sound opened the scoring after Rolan Mendoza ran in an eight-yard score, but the Mariners managed to tie the game up before the end of the first half and the teams were even at 6-6 heading into the third quarter.
The Mariners took over in the second half, scoring on their first two drives to build to a 20-6 lead, but the Sounders didn鈥檛 give up. Nolan Nault scored Howe Sound鈥檚 second touchdown off a 26-yard reception in the fourth quarter to make it 20-14. The Sounders attempted an onside kick to score again, but it was unsuccessful.
Sounders coach Jim Errington said he was proud of the way his team played.
鈥淚 believe we played as well as we could and unlike our first meeting with them, we gave them a game this time,鈥� he said in an email. 鈥淭his game is about overcoming adversity, and they were bigger and faster than us, but four turnovers and 100 yards in penalties is tough for any team to overcome.鈥�
Errington said it was tough to penetrate the Mariners offensive and defensive lines.
鈥淭heir big line dominated both sides of the ball,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e couldn't pressure their quarterback and had a tough time keeping them out of our backfield.聽鈥�
He said he was impressed with the play of Nault, who scored a touchdown and played well on defence as a defensive back.
Errington said it was an up and down year for the team with a slow start, but they bounced back with a strong finish to the year. He said despite many disadvantages, Howe Sound always competes hard against bigger programs.
鈥淎t Howe Sound we ask a lot of our players,鈥� he said. 鈥淯ntil we get them they have never worn a helmet. After they figure out how to put their shoulder pads on we ask them to compete against schools that have junior varsity and Grade 8 teams, as well as access to community players. We don't have any of that and for six straight years we always seem to be able to step up and do what needs to be done to get us to the playoffs.鈥�
The Sounders season typically concludes with an awards dinner reflecting on the season and the team鈥檚 accomplishments. Details on that event are yet to be determined.
