Braves blanked by Sultan in non-league grid opener
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September 15, 2021
KEEPING PEOPLE’S SPIRITS US – Friday was the La Conner Braves football team’s home opener against Coupeville. Maybe the pep band played with extra enthusiasm to keep the crowd in the game, a 21-0 loss. The photographer’s mom reported: “Many happy eyes from behind masks.” – Photo by Hallie Walls
The Sultan Turks shut out La Conner 21-0 in non-league football action at Whittaker Field Friday night.
But despite the zero on the scoreboard, first-year Braves head coach Charlie Edwards said all wasn’t lost for his young club in their home test with an undefeated 1A Emerald Sound Conference foe that was coming off a 50-42 win over Evergreen of Seattle the week before.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Edwards told the Weekly News afterward. “Our young players stepped up and did great.
“We lost to a team that put up 50 last week,” Edwards added. “The opposing coach told me after the game how impressed he was with the heart my boys played with.”
The difference was Turks running back Derek Feltner, who had scored five touchdowns in Sultan’s shootout triumph against Evergreen.
Feltner staked Sultan to a 14-0 lead at the break with TD runs of 31 and two yards, respectively.
Feltner finished with 105 yards on 12 carries. As a team, the Turks netted 183 yards on the ground.
Turks quarterback Tyler Sargent tacked on an insurance score in the third period with a 27-yard strike to Westin Galle.
Sargent finished with seven completions in 17 attempts and 91 yards, including the TD toss to Galle.
Galle kicked extra points after each touchdown.
La Conner countered with a solid run game featuring Kali Adams, Reece Merritt, Tommy Murdock and Jahrel Cayou that moved the ball well in the middle of the field.
“We had a few big runs and were really close to going all the way,” said Edwards. “Kali, Reece and Tommy had great runs. Jahrel had some great power runs.”
Edwards said key injuries played a part in preventing La Conner from finishing drives.
“Many players had to step up into roles they hadn’t practiced due to injuries,” he said. “The defense held up well, but the offense needs some fine tuning.”
The Braves hope that fine tuning will result in an attack hitting on all cylinders when they entertain Friday Harbor in their Sept. 17 (7 p.m.) NW2B debut.
The Wolverines, who sat out the modified spring season due to a COVID-19 surge in the San Juan Islands, opened on Friday with a 38-15 setback to 1A Granite Falls. The game was more lopsided than the final score indicates as Friday Harbor was held scoreless until late in the fourth quarter.
“All league games are important,” Edwards said. “Only having Coupeville and Friday Harbor in the league makes them crucial. Not getting to play them (Friday Harbor) last season really makes this important. And having a great rivalry with them from the youth leagues is extra special.
“We are going to have to see what our injury report looks like,” Edwards stressed, “and really prep hard this week. We definitely have a few things to clean up. We need to continue to play with heart and add some consistency.”
In other sports:
The La Conner High boys’ soccer team dropped a closely contested 1-0 decision at Friday Harbor last Tuesday. The Braves resumed conference play yesterday at home with Mount Vernon Christian. La Conner is at Grace Academy of Marysville Friday for a 3:30 p.m. match.
The La Conner girls’ soccer team opens at Coupeville tomorrow (Thursday) at 6 p.m.
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