Tonight Wolverines football takes on rival Braves off island

November 1, 2018 1:30 am
Contributed photo/John Stimpson Matro Blackmon stops the Braves runner in his tracks at the Oct. 12 game.
Contributed photo/John Stimpson Matro Blackmon stops the Braves runner in his tracks at the Oct. 12 game.

By Kaila Olin

Journal contributor

It’s the last game of the regular season and what better game to be had than a game of two rivals, as the 1-7 La Conner Braves host the 5-3 Friday Harbor Wolverines at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 1. The game will be broadcast live on www.fhTinyRadio.com and 1650 AM in Friday Harbor.

Although it will be the final game of the season for the Braves, Friday Harbor will be looking to extend their season. With a win over the Braves, the Wolverines can force a playoff play-in game pushed for the league championship next Tuesday.

“The Wolverines have been in every game this year,” says Mike Martin, Friday Harbor Tiny Radio’s play-by-play announcer. “They could, very easily, be 8-0.” He says that a play here or there has been the difference in their three losses.

When the Braves took a ferry ride over to the Wolverines’ den in earlier in October, La Conner struggled all game to gain any traction offensively and defensively. With their third shutout on the season, the Wolverines pinned 48-0 on the Braves loss to Friday Harbor on their season record.

“The defense has been phenomenal all year long,” Martin says. “They are relentless and they keep the pressure on teams the entire game.”

Entering the season, the Braves looked to excel in the run game but their season has proved to be just the opposite with an average rush of -1.2 yards per game. The Wolverine, in the other hand, used a “ground-and-pound” rushing attack for much of the year. The dominant offensive line has been the vital heart of the offense for most of their season.

LaConner averages 22.4 yards passing per game 14 points per game. The Wolverines have been the complete opposite in passing and scoring as well in comparison to the Braves, making Friday Harbor the clear favorite in this matchup.

Martin says that through their first six contests the Wolverines averaged just under 13 points a game with their ground and pound offense that featured senior tailback, Emeron Geiser.

In their two previous league games ground-and-pound gave way to a suddenly explosive offense in scoring over 40 points each of their two previous league games against LaConner and Concert. In fact, the first six games the Wolverines scored a combined 76 points and in they scored 88 points combined points in those two games alone.

“Offensively, Friday Harbor is peaking at the right time of the season,” says Martin. “Defensively, they’ve been phenomenal all year long. They keep the pressure on teams the entire game.”

The Braves will be celebrating senior night expect emotions to run high and players to do whatever they can to get their team a win.

This game might have a somewhat slightly different score with it being in La Conner in front of their home crowd. The Braves are relying on junior running back, Arjuna Adams, junior wide receiver, Mason Miles and sophomore quarterback Brady Wyles.

The Wolverines will need running backs to step up for injured senior running back, Emeron Geiser. First up is sophomore Kyson Jackson to ground and pound accompanied by the passing game with the junior duo, receiver Jordan Lawson and quarterback Jaden Jones.

This is the game where the Braves can try to come up with a win and get as much learning experience as possible and it’s the game where the Wolverines can iron out the last bit of areas of improvement in tonight’s game.