There were several local sports events I could have written about in this space.
Estevan Motor Speedway had their season finale on Friday, with all three eventual champions finishing in the top two of their features, making for some terrific drama as the races went down to the wire.
It was Pure Energy Weekend in the city, with drag racing and motocross on display, as well as the annual downtown car show.
Finally, Penta Completions Estevan Minor Football made its return to Woodlawn on Saturday, more than two years after the devastating floods of 2011.
But it was the Estevan Miners' performance that day that was most impressive of all on a busy weekend in the Energy City.
Last week I reasoned in this corner that our minor football teams needed to start winning a few games if the system was to be sustainable long-term.
The buzz on both sidelines Saturday as players, coaches and parents celebrated the Miners' 13-6 victory over the Regina Cougars was palpable. That told you everything you needed to know.
Winning creates buzz, buzz brings in more players and more players leads to sustainability.
The Miners' defence was what impressed me most in their home opener. It wasn't just that they held the Cougars off the board after allowing a first-quarter touchdown. They completely shut down Regina's offence after that, and I don't think they had more than a couple of plays over 10 yards for the rest of the game - certainly no big gains.
For the most part, the Cougars struggled to gain more than two or three yards on any given play, and that was when they weren't getting stuffed behind the line of scrimmage.
Estevan's defensive line did a phenomenal job of getting where they needed to be and executing their tackles.
For such a young age level, it was remarkable how consistent the Miners were defensively after that initial Regina touchdown. It just goes to show you how far confidence can go.
On the other side of the ball, the Miners didn't have a lot going for them until the touchdown drive late in the second quarter, but that seemed to spark them, as they moved the ball better in the second half.
Failing to capitalize on first and goal from the two-yard-line in the third quarter could have come back to haunt them. It didn't though, as they continued to stifle the Cougars and added another major with seven minutes left.
For the team to be so good with their tackling, blocking and positioning in only their second game of the season says a lot about the job head coach Wanda Harron, offensive co-ordinator Steve McLellan and defensive co-ordinator Kevin Mortenson did in preparing the Miners for Saturday.
Contact Josh Lewis at 306-634-2654 or [email protected]. We've reached that time where all we can do about the Blue Jays is laugh...
