Vikings Lose Parents’ Gas Money Bowl
The driving distance from Moose Jaw to Shaunavon is 174 miles or about three hours of driving time.
On Friday evening the Vanier Vikings and Shaunavon Shadows literally competed over who would have to drive it next weekend.
If the Vikings won Friday night they would be in second place and the Shadows’ parents would be spending gas money to come to Moose Jaw. If the Shadows won it would be vice versa for the Vikings’ parents.
No matter who won both teams would be meeting each other in next weekend’s first round of the 9 a-side playoffs.
The third meeting between the teams this season.
Unfortunately for the Vikings their parents will be shelling out some extra dollars and making the drive as Vikings lost to 32 - 19 to the Shadows.
Vanier Vikings head coach Luke Tkatchuk said the Vikings battled hard but made some key mistakes costing them the game.
“It was a hard battle on both sides. We just made some critical mistakes at critical times. Actually we’ve got another shot at these guys next week down Highway #1 and we’ll be fully prepared,” Tkatchuk said.
Next week’s matchup will be the third of the season - and the rubber match - with the Vikings taking the earlier matchup 12 - 2.
Regarding the Shadows coming out strong and then fading to once again catching their breath he typified it as “the ups and downs of the game.”
“It’s tough trying to deal with that but that’s football.”
Meeting three times can have some benefits when setting up a game plan.
“It’s always educational. We see them twice in the season and once in the playoffs. It’s always a good obstacle to overcome.”
The season has been up and down for the Vikings who have illness and injury problems. Tkatchuk is philosophical about it as just being part of football. You do the best you can with who you have.
The toughest competition this season has been the Lumsden Devils who many close to the league call beasts.
Aaron Audette head coach of the Shaunavon Shadows was extremely happy with his team.
“It was a really good game on both sides. Vanier was coming off a short turnaround in a game against Indian Head…it was a good competitive game and I know both teams played hard,” Audette said, adding “it felt like playoff football to me.”
He saw next Friday’s matchup in Shaunavon would be a classic.
The way the game sway momentum wise for the Shadows was just part of being short benched.
“We’re short handed. I think the guys tend to start strong, get tired tired and then have to dig deep. They were confident in the win. It was as good game.”
The start of the Shadows regular season was nothing like how it ended.
“We started of slow. We dealt with some injuries and then we had three in a row wins to close out the regular season. I think we made the adjustments and the kids have been working hard week to week,” he said.
Meeting the Vikings three times this season is out of the ordinary.
“I don’t think that we’ve played a single team three times in a season but knowing that we’ve got to be respectful and prepared.”
Audette said there was some advantage preparing for a team you’ll meet three times in a season.
