The Crescent Point Energy peewee Eagles and the Young Fellow bantam Falcons have played two home games, to start their regular season in the Moose Jaw minor football league.
The Crescent Point Energy peewee Eagles and the Young Fellow bantam Falcons have played two home games, to start their regular season in the Moose Jaw minor football league.
This is the first year for both teams that they competed in the Moose Jaw minor football league. It meant a few changes, as the Moose Jaw league does not have any weight restrictions to their divisions.
Experienced 10-year-olds, and 11 and 12-year-olds are playing in the peewee Junior Eagles this year. Ages 13, 14 and inexperienced 15-year-olds are playing for the bantam Young Fellow Falcons this year.
The CP peewee Eagles are now 1-1 in the season. They have two points so far, placing them in the middle of the rankings for the peewee division.
During their first two games of the year, they won 6-0 over the Assiniboia Rockets on Sept. 6, and then lost 20-12 to the Moose Jaw Ti-Cats on Sept. 13.
Head coach Chris Michel said that the coaches are working on finding the right spots and right positions for each player.
Another change for the Weyburn teams is that there is no atom division with the Moose Jaw league, and all atom teams now compete in an intercity division.
Heading into the game against Moose Jaw, Michel said that they knew the Ti-Cats would be a strong opponent, as they are the top team in the league.
"We really were in position to win at any point," said Michel. "But our defense was a weak point, it was a poor day for tackling. Usually this is a strong point for our team, but against Moose Jaw our players really required some strong tackles."
Michel said that the offensive players did a great job of blocking. He noted that the Moose Jaw Ti-Cats were really well coached, and that they did a really good job of implementing technical plays during the game.
As the CP Eagles head into their first away game, which will be Friday night under the lights in Moose Jaw, Michel noted that there is a lot for the coaches and players to work on during their practices this week.
"After the first two games, now we know where a better position might be for a lot of our athletes," said Michel.
"We had a lot of new athletes this year, so it is a bit of a puzzle finding the right place for each of our players. But definitely, already we have great running backs and great quarterbacks."
As for the Young Fellow bantam Falcons, they are tied for first place in the league with the Moose Jaw Raiders, after claiming a 2-0 start.
During their first two games of the year, the Falcons won 33-12 against Swift Current on Sept. 6, and then won 24-14 over the Moose Jaw Razorbacks on Sept. 13.
For the Falcons, their game against the Razorbacks was the first part of a home-and-home series. Brett Cooper, head coach, said that while the Razorbacks were a small team, they were quite tough on the defense side.
"We took an early lead at the start of the game, but then Moose Jaw had the lead by the end of the third quarter," said Cooper. He added that the Falcons fought to the end of the game, to claim their victory over Moose Jaw.
Cooper said that the game against the Razorbacks was a good test for the Falcons, as the opposing team is quite established in the Moose Jaw minor football league.
The week before, when the Falcons faced Swift Currents, both teams were starting their inaugural season with the Moose Jaw league.
"We are definitely progressing, but there is still a lot of work ahead of us," said Cooper.
"It was definitely good to start the season at home," added Cooper, saying it was very important to the players and coaches. After playing two home games, the Falcons will be on the road for the next two weeks.
Since the Falcons have already played the Razorbacks once, Cooper feels that the team is ready for the second half of the home-and-home series.
"They are quite stacked on the defensive-line, and it will be a stern test for our athletes, but I feel that we will rise to the challenge," said Cooper.
Both the CP Eagles and the YF Falcons will be in Moose Jaw on Friday, Sept. 19. The games will be played under the lights at the Elks Athletic Field. The CP Eagles play the Moose Jaw Lions at 6:45 p.m., and the YF Falcons play the Moose Jaw Razorbacks at 8:15 p.m.
