The U12 and U14 teams for Penta Completions Estevan Minor Football opened their regular season on Saturday with games in Moose Jaw.
The U12 Century 21 Chargers faced some adversity prior to their game against the Moose Jaw Razorbacks, a 32-14 loss. Their bus didn’t show up to take them to the game, so the parents had to scramble to get their kids up to Moose Jaw.
“Everybody stepped in and did the best they could,” said coach Matt Schell. “We only got about a 15-minute warmup, and usually we get about an hour. So we had a little bit of a hectic start.”
Cooper Pukas notched both of the team’s majors. The first was on an outside draw run for 70 yards. The other came when he was at quarterback, and scored on a run from about 15 yards out.
Schell noted they have already scored twice as many points as they did all of last year.
“We started out pretty good. We have some work to do, but with what we were put up against, we did great.”
The first game of the season is always a tough one, he said. There are a lot of nerves, and kids are anxious and even scared.
“We have quite a few first-timers out there, but they banded together, they bonded, and I honestly think we’re going to be a legitimate team, we’re going to be a force, and I think we put the league on notice with playing well against last year’s runners-up,” said Schell.
The Chargers ran the ball really well, he said, but they gave up a couple of long runs, and Schell said the co-ordinators did a great job of adjusting to contain the opposition. They ended up playing a sound game the rest of the way.
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The Lions Club Oilers opened their season with a 52-0 defeat against the Moose Jaw Razorbacks.
Coach Paul Duncan said it was a close game early on, as the defence was able to turn the ball over a couple times with an interception and a forced fumble.
Overall, the Oilers forced four turnovers on the day, which Duncan said was a highlight.
“Our defence played really strong. They were just out there for the majority of the game. As they started to get gassed, it was hard for them to keep up.”
Middle linebacker Ham Isi had a strong game for the Oilers.
But the offence was sluggish, which is to be expected early in the season. However, running back James Lewis did well in the second half.
“The big thing we’re going to work on is effort level. The kids don’t realize how much the momentum swings affect the game, and how to work to overcome that. We’ll make sure that by reviewing film, we’ll point out the areas in which we need to improve and … be more aggressive.”
