Just when Farhan Lalji thought things couldn't get worse, they did Saturday at O'Hagan Field in Vancouver.
The scoreboard may have said 41-0 for Vancouver College over Lalji's New Westminster Hyacks, but the bigger number is 11 injured Hyacks, including eight starters.
Jordan Chin, arguably the Hyacks' most valuable defender, got hurt in the second quarter with an ankle injury that Lalji said "isn't broken, but it's not good."
Jonathan He, one of the Hyacks' best lineman, also got hurt during practice earlier in the week, and running back Aldrin Asunction, who ran for more than 200 yards last week, was out with a concussion.
Add in starting quarterback Regan Eberding continuing to be on the sidelines, backup running back Pavan Mrock missing the last two games and receiver Jonathan Lopez only being able to play defence with a cast on his hand, and you have a team that should be holding its team meetings in a hospital ward.
Lalji said the Fighting Irish deserved full credit for their Saturday afternoon win under brilliant sunny skies.
"They're the best team we've played since California," Lalji said, referencing the squad's preseason warm-up in Southern California. "I don't want to make any excuses for our loss. It would be naïve to say injuries haven't played a part in this.
"We thought our strength was in our depth, but when you start the season with 13 linemen and now we only have seven healthy linemen, that's tough."
With all the injuries, Lalji had to insert more Grade 10 starters into his squad than he would have liked. But it wasn't those players Lalji wants more from.
"We've got seniors that have to step up," he said. "I'm not saying we quit, but once we got down, I would have liked to have seen our guys continue working hard so that they (Vancouver College) earned their points.
"We're just kind of hanging on right now. The guys on the field, we need a little more out of them, and we just have to find a way to get healthy."
Matt Alviz and Liam Mahara each rushed for a pair of scores for the Fighting Irish, as the Vancouver Catholic school led 14-0 after the first quarter and 28-0 at the half, adding two more touchdowns in the third quarter to round out the scoring.
Alviz finished his day with nine carries for 108 yards, rushing for a 13-yard major in the opening quarter, then adding a 70-yard touchdown on the Irish's first play from scrimmage in the second half.
Mahara scored on runs of five and 16 yards, part of his 40-yard rushing day. Jesse Cervas carried six times for 90 yards.
Irish quarterback Hunter Robinson was 6-of-7 for 131 yards and touchdown passes of 30 yards to Justin Sanvido and 43 yards to Daniel Laventure.
The Hyacks now come home to host the Notre Dame Jugglers on Friday night at 7: 30 p.m. at Mercer Stadium.
"It doesn't get any easier," said Lalji. "We're going to have to defend a few more people because with Notre Dame this year, they're taking advantage of more people, and they're a physical team with a lot of good athletes."
The next night, the Hyacks will host their eighth annual Hyack Football Tailgate Auction at the La Perla Ballroom at Westminster Quay.
The event will feature a WestJet trip for two in the Hyack football raffle, a wine auction and silent and live auctions items.
Advance ticket sales are $65 per person or $450 for a table of eight.
People can purchase tickets by logging onto http: //nwss.hyack football.com/TailgateAuction. aspx.
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