ESTEVAN - The Estevan Lions Club U14 Oilers wrapped up the 2024 season by winning the consolation final of the Moose Jaw Minor Football League.
Estevan defeated the Moose Jaw Vikings 13-6 at the Dana Quewezance Memorial Field on Saturday. Hayden Tokarchuk scored on a running play late in the first half to put Estevan up 7-0, and after Moose Jaw scored in the second half to pull to within a point, Taya Stigings on a short quarterback sneak to restore the seven-point lead.
Coach Christian Pfeifer said the Oilers did everything well, just as they did all year.
"The defence played out of their minds, just like they always do. We held them to one score, and you can't really ask for much more of a defence than that," said Pfeifer.
Kieran Kyle intercepted two passes in the first quarter. At the end of the first half, the Vikings moved the ball deep into the Oilers' territory, but Estevan forced a turnover on downs. Then, late in the fourth quarter, Ben Guertin picked up his first interception of the year to snuff out a potential game-tying Vikings' drive.
The offence moved the ball really well, Pfeifer said, and the Oilers had some big plays on special teams, recovering two muffed punt returns by the Vikings.
Also, Oilers' running back TJ Thompson was named the league's top offensive player.
"His football IQ is the biggest thing," said Pfeifer. "He's a very smart player. You tell him to do something once and he won't forget it for the rest of the season. It makes it easy to coach him."
The award capped a great minor football career for Thompson, who was named the MVP of the U12 league in 2022, and was part of the Estevan U12 Chargers team that won the league championship in 2021.
Most of the team will move up to the Estevan Comprehensive School Elecs' football team next season. Pfeifer praised the players for the strides they have made this season and for the resilience they showed.
"It's been nothing but resilient football and fantastic play from everybody on the team. I couldn't be more proud of these kids," he said.
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The Southeast U18 Estevan Kinette Club Viragos' season wrapped up Sunday in a 72-24 loss to the Melville Vipers in a Prairie Girls Football League semifinal game.
Coach Mark Tribiger said they had some issues on special teams that set the Viragos back right from the start. Melville is a strong team, and they showed it once again Sunday.
Morgan Hase, Kassidy Wallington and Aurora McCutcheon all scored touchdowns for Estevan.
Defensively, Tribiger said Jaycee Sopp and Kristen Loroff made some big plays and put pressure on the quarterback.
While the Viragos were winless this season, Tribiger said it was still a good year as they put up more points this season than in the first four years combined.
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The Estevan Power Dodge U12 Chargers were slated to wrap up the season with a consolation game Saturday against the Moose Jaw Spartans, but the game was cancelled because both teams were battling injuries and due to availability of officials.
Running back Dexx Tendler was named the league's Offensive Player of the Year.
"He basically ran our offence. Every team knew that he could score whenever he was holding the ball. There was a game where he had 10 touchdowns, and I think that sealed the deal for that discussion," said head coach James Haagsman.
Other players on the team had strong seasons, too. The offensive line was comprised of mostly second-year players.
Haagsman said the players have made big strides during the season. Some of them hadn't played football before, but he could see the progress after two months of football.
Approximately half of the team will be eligible to return next year, and Haagsman said the U10 age group is developing nicely, so there should be some good new recruits next season.
