There have been times in the recent past where the Estevan Lions Club Bantam Oilers wouldn't have been able to play a back and forth game with another team in the Moose Jaw Minor Football League.
Those days seemed like a distant memory as the Oilers lost 47-30 at Woodlawn Field to the Moose Jaw Raiders.
“Our offence came out here and we really stepped up our game,” said Oilers head coach Duncan. “We played really well. The offensive line pushed bodies around for (running back Benjamin Wagstaff). Ben had a fantastic job running out there. That kid attacked the field like no tomorrow. It was fantastic.”
He was helped in the middle of the first quarter when Jonah Bachorcik on special teams stripped the ball from a Moose Jaw punt returner and took the ball all the way to the end zone to give the Oilers a 6-0 lead.
The game had a worrisome moment shortly after when Cyrus Rooks was taken off in an ambulance but he was able to breathe better and didn't go to hospital.
After a pair of Raider touchdowns, the Oilers retook the lead late in the second quarter when quarterback Kaleb Bechtold ran 32 yards into the end zone with 1:19 left on the clock. A two-point convert later and the Oilers briefly held a 14-12 lead. But Moose Jaw's Kayde Shymko scored one of his four touchdowns on the game to give the Raiders a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
“The Raiders are a really great coached team as well,” Duncan said. “They did a really good job and their offensive line did a really great job running downhill on us.”
Bechtold's touchdown pass to Lucas Rooks brought the Oilers back to only being down 10 points, 32-22, after a two-point conversion with 1:10 left in the third quarter.
“Our quarterbacks, between Alec (Waldegger) and Kaleb did a really good job (Saturday),” Duncan said. “I couldn't be happier with our offence...
“I think we gave people something to watch, which was great.”
Part of that was the Oilers' desire to not give up, despite being down early and often this season.
“In our previous games, we've had what I call fear,” Duncan said. “They're just afraid of either not making the right play or not being able to succeed. Tonight we wiped that away. We tried our hardest and pushed the ball where we needed to and it was a good job by them.”
The Oilers' next action is in Swift Current to take on the Steelers Saturday and round out the regular season Oct. 14 at 3 p.m. against the Steelers. If the standings hold, the Oilers then will likely play Oct. 17 in Moose Jaw in a playoff game against the Raiders.
