The last game for a Prince Albert Minor Football team was a special one at Max Clunie Field on Sunday afternoon.
The Bantam River Riders played the Hague Junior Panthers as the two communities met for the first time. In the end the River Riders defeated the Panthers with a 27-8 victory after trailing 8-6 at the half.
Ashley Viklund, coach of the Bantam River Riders, said the matchup came about because of unusual circumstances.
“We typically in the fall play 12 –a-side in the KFL (Kinsmen Football League), but this year we didn’t have the people for that, so this was our first fall playing six -a-side,” she said.
“I reached out to some surrounding programs and asked like, do you guys want to do some exhibition games? We got a yes from Shellbrook and Hague, which is how this ended up being the first time we played Hague.”
Players do get to experience six-a-side but typically not in a full competitive game format like on Sunday.
“In the spring, we do have a six-a-side program where we play just in jamborees so we’re not totally new to six-a-side, but we don’t do full on games like this,” she explained.
Viklund said the game was also a chance for players from Hague to see the field.
“I’m not even sure they technically fully have a junior program. They have (Grade) 8s and nines on the team who normally just wouldn’t get to play,” she said.
Playing six-a-side is helpful because the speed of the game differs from both 9-a-side and 12-a-side football.
“The six-a-side game is neat because six-a-side is so different,” she said. “It’s so fast and it tends to be more high scoring. It’s just a really different game from 12-a-side.”
Viklund explained that the Bantam River Riders have been a better team after halftime all season.
“We’ve been a second-half team all year. It drove me crazy. But yeah, things really came together in the second half,” Viklund said.
“We had a lot more luck. We had one pick six by Joel Sinclair aAnd then another drive that we just marched it down and were able to get in the end zone.”
Rylan Knutson had played defensive back all season for the River Riders but stepped in at running back because one regular running back broke her arm and the other was in Regina for a basketball tournament.
“Rylan Knutson came over and ran one in from like the 40 yard line,” Viklund said.
“We got three touchdowns there that were really nice, really good for us and obviously made the score higher.”
The injuries and circumstances moved Knutson and linebacker Tayten Schellenberger to play running back.
“I felt bad for Hague with what he was doing to them,” she said “He’s running like he’s a linebacker.”
She said the team would like to play 12-a-side but whatever circumstances occur next football season they can adapt.
“We would hope next year to be back in the KFL, but if the numbers aren’t there, then we’re going to do what we have to make the program and the love of football stay in the community,” Viklund said.
The game also had football weather opening in cool rainy conditions before conditions improved in the afternoon.
“It was a different day,” Vikland said. “It started in the rain. The rain was supposed to be done by the time we kicked off, but it wasn’t and by noon I needed my sunglasses. We got all parts of it, but enough wind to impact the game. We had the wet, we had the dry, we got it all.”
Full scoring and statistics for the game was not available. Vikland also wanted to highlight the other side of the ball as the team had a well rounded performance.
“I obviously was talking about the offense and the scoring, but defense played really well, keeping them to eight points,” she said. “Some of the people on the defence that had really good games.
“Tristan Lane was on the D-line getting in the backfield a lot and Rylan Knutson was on the defence, had some really big tackles and Gabe Douglas had a really good game. He made some big tackles for us, so I have got to remember that side of the ball too.”
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
