Although the Estevan Century 21 Chargers lost their fifth straight game on Sunday, head coach Paul Duncan saw some encouraging signs.
The peewee football team fell 34-0 to the Regina Thunder at Dana Quewezance Memorial Field, representing their closest margin of defeat this season.
"It was definitely our most competitive game of the year so far," said Duncan.
The Thunder led 18-0 at half.
Although they were thunderstruck, Duncan was pleased with the performance of the defence.
"I was really happy, once again, with the defence and our aggression that we showed. They were hungry for the ball and that was nice. We could have used a few more wrap-up tackles, but (for the most part) the defence was quite phenomenal."
Although the offence didn't get a lot going on their drives, they did incorporate a bit of a passing game on Sunday.
"We accomplished our first first down of the year. Also, with the passing game being brought in, it opens up the door for a few turnovers as well. That's par for the course for a young quarterback," Duncan said.
The coach added that in order for the 0-5 team to get better results, the Chargers need to start dictating the pace of the game.
"I think it's going to be our sense of urgency. We need to get out of our huddles faster, get to the line of scrimmage faster and generally dictate the play more than what we do. With us being short players, we have to make sure we're making the other team run and get tired, not just us."
He also gave credit to the players for not getting down, despite the team's results so far.
"I think the kids have really shown a lot of resilience throughout the year, not to give up on what seems like a tough season."
On Saturday, the Chargers will visit the Regina Razorbacks.
