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Loss puts playoffs almost out of reach for Pitt juniors

Marauders junior varsity squad falls 40-7 to Mission at home Wednesday
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The Pitt Meadows secondary Marauders junior varsity football team couldn’t stop the Mission Roadrunners at home Wednesday afternoon, falling 40-7 to one of the top teams in the AA Eastern Conference.

The loss means Pitt Meadows will have a difficult road ahead if they want to see the postseason, with their record falling to 1-3.

Marauders coach Kris Little said his team stuck to their game plan Wednesday afternoon, but were unable to slow down Mission star Jesse Walker.

“He is the most dominant player I have ever seen at the junior varsity level,” said Little after the game. “I couldn’t even get upset at our guys because they were doing everything we asked of them. You just can’t stop him.”

Walker plays quarterback, safety, kicker and kick returner for Mission, and had another dominant performance Wednesday.

Walker rushed for close to 300 yards at quarterback, ran for four touchdowns and threw for another.

“He’s a very smart player,” said Little. “He runs like a gazelle, but he’ll wait for his blocks and just explode when he needs to.”

Despite the lopsided score, the Marauders were able to put up significant yardage against Mission, but were unable to punch the ball in deep to scoring position.

Quarterback Jake Schuster had a 65-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Beaubien, in his first game back from a concussion.

Defensive lineman Shaq Naicker led the Marauders defence with two sacks and a score of tackles, while Mack Dhami played both sides of the ball at linebacker and running back after returning from injury.

“He’s dislocated his knee twice in the last four months, but it’s all fixed now,” said Little. “By the end of the game, you could see he had his confidence back.”

The loss came less than a week after the Marauders dominant 64-0 thrashing of Sooke’s Edward Milne Wolverines in exhibition play.

With the loss to the Roadrunners, the junior Marauders will be hard pressed to make the playoffs with their 1-3 record. But they’re not out of it yet, said Little.

“We’ll have to win out in our last two games,” said Little “We’ll need some help from the other teams too. But we’re staying positive.”

Only the top three teams in the seven-team AA Eastern Conference will get to move on to the playoffs.

The Marauders face the 3-1 Robert Bateman Timberwolves next Wednesday on the road before returning home to face the 2-2 GW Graham Grizzlies on Oct. 31.

Seniors look for first win

The Marauders varsity football squad return home for their first league game of the season at Pitt Meadows Community Sports Field tonight (Friday), as they take on the undefeated Rick Hansen Hurricanes under the lights at 7:30 p.m.

The Marauders are 0-2 after last week’s 36-29 loss to the Robert Bateman Timberwolves, and will be chasing their first regular season win.

The Hurricanes are 2-0 in league play, and are coming off a 24-7 win over the Langley Saints.

Only three regular season games remain for the Marauders, who are tied for last place in the B.C. AA Eastern Conference, however, all three of those game will be at home at Pitt Meadows secondary.