It was a game of high and lows for Sounders cornerback Ray Belandres against Eric Hamber Secondary.
In the final football game of the regular season for Howe Sound, it looked like no one might score, with both team heading off at the half in a scoreless draw.
鈥淥ffensively, we moved the ball but didn't have much success scoring,鈥� Howe Sound head coach Jim Errington said.
On a Hamber drive in the third quarter, Belandres got beat in a sprint that ended with a long touchdown pass. Hamber put the convert wide, giving the visitors a 6-0 lead over Howe Sound.
In the fourth quarter though, Hamber was approaching midfield and looked to build on its lead until Belandres stepped in to intercept a pass and run it upfield 51 yards where he was finally brought down inside the 10-yard line.
The play instantly energized students watching from the sidelines as well as the Sounders, who found the end zone two plays later when Lukas Nering rushed in for the major.
Howe Sound went for a two-pointer with quarterback Michael Lane keeping the ball and rushing into a mob toward the goal line. When the dog pile cleared, the Sounders had an 8-6 lead.
As the fourth quarter wore on, Eric Hamber tried to move up field, but on the last drive, buried deep in its own end, the visiting team tried to go long on a pass play that did not connect.
Howe Sound took over in the red zone with time running down, but on the last play of the game Lane took a knee to run out the clock.
The Sounders managed 212 yards on 53 plays, most of which came on the ground. Nering again racked up a 100-yard game, with 104yards rushing. He added 17 yards receiving. Alex Domingo rushed for 51 yards on 10 carries, Lane added 40 yards on 15 plays from the quarterback spot and Alex Schultheiss added one yard on one carry.
Nering鈥檚 catch though was the only yardage the Sounders managed in the air.
鈥淲e connected on only one passing play for a gain, and you got to be able to throw if you are going to be successful,鈥� Errington said.
On the other side of the ball, the defence held Hamber to 74 yards total offence. Hamber ran for only 29 yards on 18 plays and went seven for 15 for 45 yards passing.
鈥淲e definitely have some soft spots on defence, but overall that was a pretty solid performance. Keeping an offence to under a 100 yards in total is no easy feat,鈥� the coach added.
Eleven of Hamber鈥檚 33 plays resulted in net losses. End Lukas Pirron had two sacks and five tackles, Nering had one sack and four tackles and Will Lea-Smith had four tackles.
The win put Howe Sound in second place, though whether they end up there for playoff seeding depends on a game between Eric Hamber and Spectrum, which took place after the story went to press.聽
