Hard work, a few adjustments and a complete team effort powered the Estevan Century 21 peewee Chargers to a 22-8 playoff win over the Moose Jaw Vikings at Elks Field on Friday.
“We did a few adjustments on the offensive side and defence did the same and the kids really are the ones that dictated it,” said Chargers assistant coach Evan Helfrick. “The (offensive) line blocked really well and the running backs gave a little extra effort and everything was clicking. The defence was stopping them just like they did the previous Friday to have the shutout, but everyone across the board made a bigger effort.”
The Chargers (3-2-1) entered the post-season as the third seed in the Moose Jaw Minor Football League (MJMFL) with their final regular season game being a 0-0 tie against the Vikings (4-1-1) on Oct. 14. Helfrick said the kids went back to work in practice after the draw and worked hard on improving the few elements of their game that needed tweaking and then executed on those things during the playoff match.
After a scoreless first quarter, Chargers quarterback Alec Waldegger got his team on the board 5:56 into the second frame on a designed run where he rolled out on a fake and ran the ball in from the five-yard line. Klayten Piipo made the convert to give his team the 8-0 lead.
Waldegger then notched his second touchdown on the final play of the second quarter reversing twice to get around the defence before running 31 yards for the major. The Chargers quarterback scored a third touchdown with 1:49 remaining in the game, which coupled with a Piipo convert brought the score to 22-0.
The semifinal win advances the Chargers to the league final this Friday at Elks Field against the undefeated Weyburn Ravens (6-0). The Chargers lost 30-19 to the Ravens in Weyburn on Oct. 8.
“Both sides are evenly matched,” said Helfrick. “Our first meeting was a close game, so I expect the same. It'll be a back-and-forth battle, offence versus defence, and both teams have good (players on) both sides of the ball, so there is no advantage which way you look at it. So, it's going to come down to execution and effort and taking care of the ball.”
