Steelers Grind Out A Tough Win Versus Mafia
Saturday evening saw the battle between the winless two teams in the U14 division of the Kinsmen Moose Jaw Minor Football League.
And if you were cheering for the Moose Jaw they fell to the Swift Current Steelers 14 - 6.
A tough loss for the Mafia but a big gorilla off of the Steelers backs.
For Swift Current coach Zachary Nickel said despite being winless in their first two games the Steelers came to play.
“It feels really good. The boys really came to play tonight. They all stepped up in a big way and were really proud of them,” Nickel said.
Asked what was the key factor for the Steelers victory he said it was practice.
“I think we went back (after two consecutive losses) and we worked hard in practice. We were just tired of losing. They brought a lot of grit to the practice field and I think that grit showed on the game field today too.”
Asked about the Steelers punting game - a team highlight from the game due to the depth many punts achieved - Nickel said it’s something the Steelers have been working on.
“We believe special teams is one-third of the game so we work on it good and we’re happy that it paid off for us tonight,” he said.
Asked about his callout for what went well for the Steelers he said they were numerous.
“Lots of good things went well. You know what the O line really held their ground in there and gave the quarterback time. The defence played strong and didn’t let them get too much going on their offence,” he said, adding “I think we had good things happen on both sides of the ball.”
About losing their starting quarterback due to an injury off of a face mask he said it was “always scary losing a guy but you know we’ve got a good group of kids and I know every kid is ready to step up and take that spot.”
“We weren’t too scared.”
The loss was a tough one for the Mafia as they lost by a single scoring drive for the second week in a row.
The team had a lengthy team meeting following the game where mistakes were pointed out but also the players were reminded despite the loss the season was far from over. The mental game was important the team was told.
Mafia assistant coach Cory Harkness called it a “tough loss” for the newly minted Mafia.
“It was a tough loss. Swift Current came with a lot of energy and we need to match that energy,” Harkness said.
Asked about the team’s discipline in taking late unnecessary roughness penalties he said it was not a discipline problem.
“It’s not so much discipline it’s just sometimes these kids are reactionary and we too some penalties out there I thought were correctable,” he said.
He typified it as a balancing act.
“It’s an emotional sport. Football is an emotional sport. The kids we want to have them control their emotions but you also don’t want to bottle them up.”
Despite the loss the Mafia had a lot of positives in the game, he said.
“We had a lot of positives. We had a lot of things that went well tonight. It’s a 12 person game out there and if two or three of your 12 don’t do their responsibilities it can result in plays not going your way.”
Harkness said it wasn’t just the players as the Magia being called with too many players on the field was entirely to blame on the coaches.
“We have to do better on getting the kids out there. It’s not just the kids out there it’s the responsibility of us coaches.”
The loss was not caused exclusively by the Mafia’s players and coaches but also the Steelers played a good game Harkness said.
“Swift Current brought a heck of an effort and hats off to them.”
Practices next week will target bringing the intensity up and the fact the team has now lost its last two games by one scoring play means the practices will also be to help the players remain positive.
“This next week of practice is going to be vital to getting us back in the right mindset for next week.”
The Mafia will face their Moose Jaw rivals the Vikings next Saturday at home.
The Steelers are up against Weyburn next Saturday afternoon in Swift Current.
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Steelers 6
Mafia 0
Second Quarter
Steelers 6
Mafia 0
Third Quarter
Mafia 6
Steelers 14
Fourth Quarter
Mafia 6
Steelers 14
