The Yorkton Minor Football (YMF) Atom Gridders played their home season opener at Kinsmen Century Field against the visiting Regina Lions. The Lions claimed a 15-0 shutout win over the Atom Gridders.
Head coach Steve Variyan says he was very satisfied with the improvement in his young players. The Atom's first game ended 32-0 for the opposition, he points out. "This one was 15-0, so everything's positive with two interceptions. The score at the third quarter was 0-0," he declares.
Variyan claims the Atom Gridders won the first half despite the fact that they didn't score. "I think we had the ball in their half more than they did," he states.
The young Yorkton players have never worn football equipment nor played football before, Variyan notes. Saturday's game was only the second game in their lives against teams whose players are playing football for the third year. "So for us to be in this game right til the fourth quarter was a real positive because the shell shock is over and it's been a very steep learning curve for the players," he says.
Assistant coach Dennis Nesseth says the players lacked a little confidence in their first game of the season in Regina. They weren't coming off the line. They weren't sure of what to do. They were playing on artificial turf for the first time. "So everything was new and they were unsure of things," he suggests.
Saturday, they played with a little more confidence, Nesseth says. "They were coming off the line a lot faster. They knew their jobs a lot better and they were just learning a lot more this time," he claims.
Atom Gridder coaching staff includes head coach Steve Variyan, Dennis Nesseth, Rick Kozachenko, Perry Ostapowich, and Noel Budz and team manager Shawna Boyda.
