Vikings Sail Past Oilers

Getting to the outside were the magic words for the Moose Jaw Vikings as they defeated the visiting Estevan Oilers 45 - 0 in Kinsmen Moose Jaw Minor Football U14 division play on Friday evening.

For the Vikings it was their second win in as many weeks and for the Oilers they dropped to 0 - 2 on the season. Both of Estevan’s losses were playing away at Elks’ Field.

The Oilers lack discipline at times, especially in the first quarter, where they took unnecessary penalties.

Despite the loss the Oilers used their size to shut down the Vikings rush in the center.

Another bright spot for the Oilers was that they were able to force fumbles and managed to win the fight for the loose ball.

The Vikings defence was strong and they were often able to shut down the Oilers’ rush forcing possession to be given up after downs.

Both teams threw offsetting interceptions to their opponent.

“I thought it was good. I thought it was a good test for the team,” Brock Montgomery head coach of the Vikings said.

“Estevan has got some big players on both sides of the ball. So our linemen on both sides of the ball worked their butts off to survive,”Montgomery said.

He said Estevan used their size to force the Vikings to fumble the ball.

“They’re a big physical team and the boys had to work for it. We have some speed and when we got to the outside we were able to move the ball on them. Inside they’re a team that are going to be tough to beat.”

About the lopsided score he said it’s something that happens in a game going on to point out how well Estevan played in the second half.

“They forced us to run inside and they’ve got that number 47 on their team and he’s a beast.”

A highlight of the third quarter for the Vikings was a seven minute drive where they controlled the clock and the game.

Estevan Oilers head coach Kelly Guertin said “it was definitely a harder night for us tonight. They definitely had us from the get go and it was hard to stop them.”

Bad penalties hurt the Oilers giving the momentum to the Vikings.

“There was a little bit of unnecessary stuff that we don’t coach and encourage and it hurt us. But it happens sometimes,” he said.

The fumbles forced by the Oilers was a highlight of their game.

“The boys jumped on that right away and as soon as they started forcing those fumbles they were able to pick up anything laying on the field. They loved it.”

The Oilers now plan to work on their defence to improve their play and offensively work to keep their play clean.