Saints flash defense in opening loss

The West Sound Saints featured a new offense in Saturday’s NAFL opener against the Southern Oregon Renegades, but it was the defense that stood out in a 14-6 loss at Silverdale Stadium.

The Saints’ offense had an opportunity to score from the Southern Oregon 1-yard line in the first quarter, but were stopped on three consecutive running plays and turned the ball over on downs.

Southern Oregon running back Eric Shull gave the Renegades an 8-0 lead before halftime when he scored on a 1-yard run and then was successful on a two-point conversion.

The Renegades extended their lead to 14-0 in the third quarter when quarterback Nate Ellis found Anthony Spain for a 51-yard touchdown pass.

West Sound responded with its lone score in the third when quarterback Brandon Peterson, who completed 5 of 10 passes for 95 yards, hit Justin Kelly for a 27-yard touchdown.

The offense, which Murray described as a compilation of the pro set and no-huddle offenses, now has an extra week to prepare before it plays July 12 against the North King County Wildcats.

“We’re looking forward to it,” said Murray, an offensive lineman. “We were about a block away from executing some big plays. There were a lot of bugs that we still were working out.”

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