A hard-fought road game by the Estevan Lions Club bantam Oilers and Moose Jaw Razorbacks at Elks Field on Saturday came down to two big first-quarter plays by the home side and one untimely penalty by the visitors.
The Oilers lost 20-0 to the Razorbacks (2-0) despite playing their hosts tight defensively throughout the match. Moose Jaw got on the board 8:38 into the first quarter on a 70-yard touchdown by Devon Boughmann, which was followed by a 50-yard goal by Brandon Bougher with 54 seconds left in the second quarter making the score 14-0 with the convert heading into the half. The Razorbacks' Dillon Yaminuck punched in a one-yard touchdown 6:40 into the third quarter to complete the scoring.
Paul Duncan, head coach of the Oilers, said the two long touchdowns were the result of blown coverage assignments where the Razorbacks did a great job of using their speed and size to get open behind their defence. He said those two plays along with their defensive touchdown off a stripped ball being called back is what turned the game in the Razorbacks' favour.
“We did get on the board, but then there was that little wonderful piece of orange nylon on the ground,” said Duncan, noting an illegal block negated the score. “I think it took the wind out of the sails of the team a little bit. That's something that as the kids progress through will learn to shrug off and (learn that) sometimes things don't go our way, but we can't hang our heads and give up. We got to keep fighting through.”
Duncan said the final score may not reflect how close the game actually was. He said the Razorbacks did a great job of swallowing up their run game and eliminating their passing attack with the Oilers defence matching their opponents throughout.
“Johan Bachorcik, #12 for us, had one heck of a game, just fantastic,” he said about the Oilers outside linebacker. “He was all over the place. He was the one number they kept calling out every time because he was knocking balls down on defence. He was laying blocks on offence when he had to go out there. He just had a really good game overall.”
The Oilers (0-2) have a quick turnaround with a road game against the Falcons (1-0) at Weyburn Comprehensive School this evening. Duncan said that only gave them a chance to do a walkthrough on Tuesday, but he expects his kids to be ready for their rivals.
“It should be pretty good against Weyburn,” said Duncan. “They are large in size and in number and they're an extremely well-run program, but I think we have the horses now on our side to be able to at least make it a competitive match. And, of course, the battle of Highway 39 is always fun.”
