Earl Marriott’s youngest football players are still undefeated, after the Grade 8 Mariners defeated the Pitt Meadows Marauders 50-28 on Monday afternoon.
The previously undefeated Marauders were the first to put points on the board – scoring on the game’s opening drive – but EMS returned fire with a touchdown of their own, on a 20-yard run by Holden Allen, which was capped with a two-point conversion from Eisa Iqbal.
Pitt Meadows took a 16-8 lead in the second quarter, and led 28-14 early in the third – Marriott’s second score came via a Lachlan Scardina touchdown pass to Ryan Baker – until the South Surrey team mounted a comeback midway through the third quarter. Jeff Bates scored on a 40-yard rush to cut the deficit to one touchdown, and the game was tied on another 40-yard play, when Scardina connected with Baker again on a long pass.
In the fourth quarter, the Mariners took a 34-28 lead when Iqbal scored on a five-yard run, and Carter Fenwick extended the league on a 25-yard touchdown run. A two-point conversion followed the TD, and one final score – a 66-yard interception returned for a touchdown by Ty Therrien – capped the high-scoring affair.
EMS finished the day with four interceptions – Maleeh Monajazeb had two and Baker had one, in addition to Therrien’s.
The victory improved Marriott’s win-loss record to 5-0, with one regular-season game remaining – Nov. 6 against the Holy Cross Crusaders.