Football team has a hard time in Concrete

The Concrete Lions, with two state 11-man football titles to their credit, resembled a finely tuned machine in the eight-man grid ranks Friday night.

That machine, unfortunately for the La Conner Braves, turned out to be a steam roller.

Concrete rolled to an 80-26 home triumph over La Conner, which was playing just the third game in its inaugural eight-man season.

The Braves (1-2) were coming off an impressive 60-0 shutout win over Vashon Island but found the Lions, who snapped a three-game losing streak, to be a different breed of cat in the Sept. 27 clash of longtime Skagit County rivals.

Despite the loss, La Conner head coach Charlie Edwards could point to several highlights ahead of the Braves’ visit to Crescent on the Olympic Peninsula this Saturday.

La Conner quarterback C.J. Edwards threw for 227 yards and ran for another 118 against the Lions. He threw scoring strikes of 29 yards to Brent Bobb and 41 yards to Kaleb Otis.

Bobb finished with 100 yards receiving on the night.

Freshman running backs Yandel Rosales-Rojas and Xavier Keo added rushing TDs for the Braves. Rosales-Rojas burst in from seven yards out. Keo’s scoring jaunt went for 46 yards.

“Once again, our boys never gave up,” coach Edwards said afterward. “They played with heart and effort.”

In Crescent, La Conner will face a club that is 2-2 on the season, including a 74-54 triumph at Concrete on Sept. 20 and a 50-0 loss to Darrington on Sept. 27. Like La Conner and Concrete, the Loggers are a former NW2B 11-man mainstay.