Friday night lights will blaze this week in Pitt Meadows, as the high school campaign begins.
The Pitt Meadows Marauders senior boys football team was in Kamloops last Friday, where they were bitten by the Vernon Vipers 26-7 in a loss to end the exhibition season.
“The kids weren’t ready to go, and we didn’t play well in the first half,” said coach Matt Todd.
Pitt managed to get only nine offensive plays in the first half of the game. The result was a 17-7 half-time deficit.
The one Marauder score came when quarterback Jake Schuster hit wideout Matt Cameron with an eight-yard pass to finish a drive.
The Marauders looked better to start the second half, said Todd, but a fumble and turnovers undid their good execution.
Todd said it was the kind of game a team just needs to forget and move past.
“We need to practice hard and be ready for this one – now it’s for real.”
Their first opponent in the regular season will be the Abbotsford Collegiate Panthers.
“They throw the ball a lot, and we’ll be ready for that,” said Todd.
Corners Mark Ashamalla and Cameron and safety Hayden Hardy will be key performers.
Todd said his offensive line will also have to do a better job of protecting Schuster, who does his best work out of the pocket.