The Howe Sound Sounders continue to impress early in the 2011 campaign.
The football club hosted the Valleyview Vikings for an exhibition game on Friday (Sept. 16) and played the AA-sized squad tough, leading for most of the game and finishing in a 22-22 tie.
"I thought it was a heck of a game by both teams," said Sounders head coach Joe Gignac. "Coach Jim [Errington] and his defence kept us in the game. It's nice to play a good game against a team with much more experience."
The Vikings scored on their first possession of the game and took an eight-point lead, but the Sounders' defence locked down, not allowing another point until the fourth quarter. The game turned into a battle of field position for the remainder of the first half, with both teams struggling to put it together offensively. The Sounders' Anthony Wuster finally broke the shutout in the second quarter with a 20-yard rumble into the end zone.
According to Wuster, the game was a great learning experience for the Sounders.
"Today's game was pretty tough and we were really aware of how good the Vikings are," he said, noting Valleyview knocked off an AAA-ranked team one week earlier. "The offence struggled a bit but I think we got it together after the first quarter."
Howe Sound's offence seemed to adjust as the game went on, as the Sounders took to the air to put points on the board. Quarterback James Kyle connected with Griffin Dare for a 24-yard touchdown to finish off the second quarter and the Sounders went to halftime with a 14-8 lead.
Kyle picked up a rushing touchdown in the third to give the Sounders a 22-8 lead but Valleyview managed to finally figure out the Sounders' defence in the fourth. The Vikings reached the end zone twice and then their defence stopped the Sounders on the 2-yard line in the waning seconds of the game to ensure the tie.
Despite not winning the game, Wuster said the Sounders can hold their heads up high.
"I'm definitely pleased with the tie," he said. "A lot of their guys are older and have been playing longer than us so it's a good tie for us."
Gignac echoed Wuster's thoughts.
"We're looking for small improvements every week," he said. "We just want to get a little bit better every time out there and I liked the way we played today."
The Sounders displayed a balanced offence throughout the game, with 121 yards rushing and 100 yards in the air. Leading the way offensively for the team was Kyle, who picked up 65 yards rushing and Cam Prouten, who caught three passes for 55 yards. Prouten was also a beast defensively against the Vikings, picking up eight tackles, three sacks and recovering a fumble. For his efforts, Prouten was named the defensive player of the game, while Wuster was given the nod for offensive player of the game.
The team will next travel to Campbell River for a league game against the Timberline Wolves on Saturday (Sept. 24) at 1:30 p.m. The next home game for the team will take place on Oct. 1 when GP Vanier comes to town.
For more information on B.C. High School football, visit www.bchighschoolfootball.com.
