Penalties plague Pitt in loss

The road to the post-season got a little more rocky for the Pitt Meadows Marauders Saturday afternoon after the local AA varsity football squad dropped a 7-6 decision to the Mission Roadrunners at home.

The outcome might have been different had the Marauders not took more than 150 yards in penalties over the course of the game.

“I felt we out-played them. We beat them in yardage, we beat them in the air, we beat on the ground,” said Marauders coach Dave Holleran. “To lose a game like that is tough to take.”

The loss puts the Marauders in sixth-place in the Mainland AA Conference with a 2-4 record, one spot out of a play-off berth with one game left to play.

In order to advance to the post-season, the Marauders will have to win their final game of the season against the 1-5 Abbotsford Collegiate Panthers, while Hugh Boyd (3-3), who currently holds onto final play-off berth will have to lose their final game to the undefeated Seaquam Seahawks.

The Maruders got off to a quick 6-0 lead after Malcom Williams scored on Pitt Meadows’ first possession. Kicker Mirco Schaeffer was not able to convert the major score, and the Roadrunners answered back with their only major score of the game later in the first half, running back an intercepted pass for touchdown, which they converted.

However, a near-constant rain of yellow flags stymied the Marauders attempts to get back into the game. The first half saw the Marauders take 13 penalties for more than 100 yards. While some were obviously warranted, many of the calls left Pitt Meadows coach Dave Holleran scratching his head.

“When the ref is calling a penalty on No. 67, and we don’t even have a No. 67 out on the field, you got to wonder,” he said. Frustrations on the Pitt Meadows bench reached a near-fever pitch after the Marauders had a touchdown called back on a holding call well away from the play.

Holleran said he could hardly blame his players for the position they found themselves in.

“I felt sorry for the boys at half time,” he said. “It was one frustrating game.”

The yellow tide ebbed somewhat in the second half, and the Marauders pushed hard in the final minutes of the game for the win, but despite a pair of forays deep into Roadrunner territory, they couldn’t capitalize on their chances.

With five minutes left, a spectacular catch in double-coverage by the diminutive Cory Takahara put the Marauders in the red zone. However, with Pitt Meadows on Mission’s 10-yard line, Williams threw an endzone interception, leaving the Roadrunners take to over on their own three-yard line.

The Marauders defense, determined to get the ball back, shut down the Mission ground attack, allowing them only six yards on the next three downs, forcing them to punt.

The Marauders regained possession on their own 48, and on third down with two yards to go, Williams snagged a 28-yard catch to put the Marauders deep in Roadrunner territory with time ticking down.

A five-yard catch by Cody Holleran and a four-yard run by Williams put the Marauders on the six-yard line with a 1:24 left to play. On third and one, quarterback Danny Childress, playing his first full game at pivot, spotted the blitz, dropped back, rolled right, and threw to a sprinting Cody Holleran in the endzone, missing his out-stretched fingers by mere inches.

Williams shanked the ensuing field goal attempt to the right, and Mission claimed the win.

“We had our chances to win this game, and we didn’t get it done,” said coach Holleran. Still, he noted there were many positives to take away from the game.

“I couldn’t have asked for more from our defense,” he said. “We didn’t allow them a single point when they had the ball, so you can’t complain about that.”

Linemen Gordon MacKinnon and Martin Duckhorn, and rush ends Adam Desaultels and Jordan Dame shut down Mission’s running game, limiting the Roadrunners to just a handful of first downs.

While the offensive line struggled to open holes for the Marauders running game, Holleran said he has more than happy with Childress’s performance at quarterback.

“I thought he played exceptional,” he said.

The Marauders travel to Abbotsford Collegiate this Saturday for their final game of the regular season. Game time is at 3:15 p.m.

Holleran said he could hardly blame his players for the position they found themselves in.

“I felt sorry for the boys at half time,” he said. “It was one frustrating game.”

The yellow tide ebbed somewhat in the second half, and the Marauders pushed hard in the final minutes of the game for the win, but despite a pair of forays deep into Roadrunner territory, they couldn’t capitalize on their chances.

With five minutes left, a spectacular catch in double-coverage by the diminutive Cory Takahara put the Marauders in the red zone.

However, with Pitt Meadows on Mission’s 10-yard line, Williams threw an end zone interception, leaving the Roadrunners take to over on their own three-yard line.

The Marauders defense, determined to get the ball back, shut down the Mission ground attack, allowing them only six yards on the next three downs, forcing them to punt.

The Marauders regained possession on their own 48, and on third down with two yards to go, Williams snagged a 28-yard catch to put the Marauders deep in Roadrunner territory with time ticking down.

A five-yard catch by Cody Holleran and a four-yard run by Williams put the Marauders on the six-yard line with a 1:24 left to play. On third and one, quarterback Danny Childress, playing his first full game at pivot, spotted the blitz, dropped back, rolled right, and threw to a sprinting Cody Holleran in the end zone, missing his out-stretched fingers by mere inches.

Williams missed the ensuing field goal attempt to the right, and Mission claimed the win.

“We had our chances to win this game, and we didn’t get it done,” said coach Holleran. Still, he noted there were many positives to take away from the game.

“I couldn’t have asked for more from our defense,” he said. “We didn’t allow them a single point when they had the ball, so you can’t complain about that.”

Linemen Gordon MacKinnon and Martin Duckhorn, and rush ends Adam Desaultels and Jordan Dame shut down Mission’s running game, limiting the Roadrunners to just a handful of first downs.

While the offensive line struggled to open holes for the Marauders running game, Holleran said he has more than happy with Childress’s performance at quarterback.

“I thought he played exceptional,” he said.

Game time

The Marauders travel to Abbotsford Collegiate this Saturday for their final game of the regular season. Game time is at 3:15 p.m.

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