For four years Aarmin Purewal became accustomed to winning.
Championship after championship after championship rolled his way.
So there may not be a better person to discuss the current dilemma the Westshore Rebels find themselves in than the 19-year-old, six-foot-five, 290-pound offensive lineman.
Purewal, along with Sheldon Mack and Ashton MacKinnon, tasted much success within the Mount Douglas Rams football program. But at 0-3 with the Rebels, Purewal realizes how far a win could go today as the equally inept Valley Huskers (also 0-3) come calling in sa国际传媒 Football Conference play. Kickoff is 3 p.m. at Westhills Stadium in Langford.
鈥淲ith all the work we鈥檙e putting in 鈥� with all the blood, sweat and tears, we need a win,鈥� said Purewal, who returned to Victoria to play junior football after red-shirting with the Western Ontario Mustangs in 2014. 鈥淲e need to grind out a win right now and with the group of guys in the room, I think we can do it.鈥�
Thumped 78-7 in Week 1 in Kelowna, to losing a heart-breaker 23-21 at home to the Vancouver Island Raiders and then following that up with a 60-11 thumping in Kamloops last week 鈥� the Rebels need to right this ship.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard, for all of us, not just the Mount Doug guys,鈥� said Purewal. 鈥淔or this entire team it鈥檚 hard. But we鈥檙e going to work past it.
鈥淚 feel as Mount Doug guys we bring that mentality where we don鈥檛 want to lose. Everyone sees how we react to the losses and they feel the same way. Nobody likes losing, whether you鈥檙e from a winning or losing program. It is the worst and that VI loss was probably the worst heart break I鈥檝e ever had.鈥�
Having won championships from Grade 9 through Grade 12, Purewal lost just a handful of games over that stretch. In his senior year the Rams only dropped one game and that was in exhibition play in Hawaii to an American high school.
鈥淚t鈥檚 tough to take. It鈥檚 tougher to take if you鈥檙e not improving,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 feel like everybody is improving each week and once our offence and defence starts clicking we will be a force to be reckoned with.鈥�
That last statement is probably a stretch, but you can鈥檛 knock Purewal鈥檚 thought process. The Rebels need to pick themselves up off the turf and attempt to keep the Huskers below them in the BCFC standings.
鈥淚 feel like everybody still has their spirits,鈥� Purewal said of bouncing back from last week鈥檚 disaster that included taking 26 penalties for 160 yards and allowing 332 yards rushing. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not like one game is going to define us, or even three games.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to move on from it. We鈥檙e going to take the positives and move on and learn from it.鈥�
POINT AFTER: Today is military recognition game with free admission to members, reserves and retirees of the Canadian forces with valid military ID. [email protected]
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