The Vernon Marauders fell 38-6 to the undefeated Kelowna Lions Sunday, ending their dream of becoming Southern Interior Football Conference Junior Bantam champions.
Jonah Waterstreet had the lone Vernon score at Grahame Park, picking off a swing pass and running it back 45 yards.
“All of the boys brought their A-game,” said defensive coach Andy Stefansson. “I am very proud of their never-die attitude and the way we made them earn every yard,”
Although the Maurader offence was able to move the ball and threatened to score on several occasions, they just could not quite punch it in.
“The Lions are a big, fast, well-coached team and deserved their win,” said head coach Ron Kirschner noting that all of the Marauder coaches were very proud of the boys sportsmanship, tenacity and team loyalty.
The Vernon Yellow Jackets saw their Pee Wee season end with a 28-0 loss to the undefeated Lions.
Playing in six inches of snow, Vernon dominated the first half, limiting the Lions’ offence to just two long-yard plays, one of which was for a touchdown.
On three separate drives, the Jackets drove into the red zone, but were unable to convert. They trailed 8-0 at the half.
Leading the Jacket defence with 10 tackles was corner Kaden Doughty, while linebackers Issac Olsen, Miles Forrest and Garret Black-Thomas stifled the Lions’ inside run game. Thomas Mackiewich, Bryce Turner, Bryce Thachuk, Trey Winstanley, Thomas Satterthwaite and Noah Slimmon also had big stops.
Runningback Dylan Huber had 15 carries for 53 yards, and Riley MacGillivray had 18 carries for 42 yards.
In the final minutes, Kelowna punched in two late scores.
“The slippery conditions gave the taller, faster Kelowna team a slight advantage and they were able to bust open a few big plays that made the difference on the scoreboard,” said Yellow Jackets’ head coach Ed Huber.
“I am super proud of the effort every single player. Amazing team effort. All a coach can ask for is the players to go 110 per cent and they certainly did.”
Huber thanked assistant coaches Doug Cook, Bryan Cragg, Terry Winstanley, Bill Nestor and Carey Mackewich who molded a bunch of football rookies into great team.
