The Wolverines are having one of their strongest football seasons ever, sitting in second place until this week’s loss against the GP Vanier Towhees.
Last week fans witnessed the Wolverines win over the Gulf Island Scorpions 35-0. This week’s Friday night game in Courtenay was filled with distractions that led to a devastating loss for the Sooke boys.
Midway through the third quarter the score was 21-20 Vanier. However, frustration with the referees, a locker room robbery and heckling by Vanier fans threw off the Sooke squad and they fell apart late in the game with the Wolverines defence taking penalty after penalty.
The Wolverines lack of mental discipline resulted in Vanier running away with the game late in the third quarter. The game ended with a final score of 49-20.
It was exactly opposite to the Wolverines game against the Gulf Island Scorpions when they did not take a single penalty.
“The loss had nothing to do with poor performance. It had everything to do with the hundreds of yards in penalties,” said EMCS head coach Matt Mortenson. “The loss was a consequence of distractions that rattled the team.”
Alex Wright threw touchdown passes to Tyler Potter, Jesse Kingston and Conner Gray. Mortenson said these types of stresses are an unfortunate part of the game and one that players have to learn how to cope with.
“The best we can do is prepare mentally, which is exactly what we are going to do. If the players are aware of all possible distractions and can prepare for them, the wins will return”.
This week EMCS is home to Timberline Secondary. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. on the high school field.
