They had to pump water for three or four days to dry off the field, but the sloppy conditions didn't seem to hurt the home team.
The Lanigan Lazers hosted the Hanley Sabres in a Conference 3 six-man football league game on September 17. Despite the windy day, a large group of spectators gathered at the field in Lanigan to watch the teams' first game of the year.
Lanigan was scheduled to play the week before, but that game was rained out, explained coach Jay Fitzsimmons.
Hanley won the Provincial championship in 2009, Fitzsimmons noted, so Lanigan wasn't sure how the game would go. But, at the end of the first quarter, the teams were tied at zero.
The second quarter saw Lanigan take a 6-0 lead after a long run down the field. The Lazers increased their lead shortly after with another run after an interception.
Hanley got its lone touchdown of the first half shortly before it ended, thanks to hard work by a receiver. The receiver fell down in the mud as the ball was in the air, managed to scramble back to his feet, make the catch, evaded the lone Lanigan player close to him, and ran for a touchdown.
The half ended with Lanigan up 12-6.
Lanigan spent much of the third quarter in penalty trouble, garnering several major and minor infractions, which forced them deep into their end. It would cost them, as Hanley gathered in a punt and returned it for a touchdown, tying the score at 12.
The Lazers would regain the lead shortly after. After Hanley kicked off, Lanigan caught them unprepared defensively and ran the ball in for a touchdown on their very first possession.
The third quarter ended with the Lazers up 18-12.
Hanley came out strong in the fourth quarter, with a nice pass and run play by Alex Peters got them to the five-yard line. Three plays later, Sabre Ben Wasmuth ran unmolested into the end zone to tie the game at 18.
Lanigan took possession of the ball after the kickoff, but fumbled to give the Sabres possession. Once again, a Hanley receiver showed concentration as a Lanigan defender tipped the ball during a passing play. But the Sabres still managed to catch it and run down field before being stopped at the 30-yard line.
With time running out, Hanley punted the ball through the end zone, garnering one point to give them a 19-18 lead.
The Lazers took possession deep in their end, but things started to fall apart as the quarterback threw an interception, setting up another touchdown by Wasmuth, giving Hanley a 25-18 victory.
"We're quite happy with this result," said Fitzsimmons after the game. "We made rookie mistakes. On our last three possessions, we had two fumbles and a pick."
The learning curve in football is steep and unforgiving, he noted.
"We got into some penalty trouble, but we wanted the boys to play aggressive and it cost us," Fitzsimmons said. "Number 93 (Karsten Hoehn) got a couple of unnecessary roughness penalties, but otherwise he played a good game."
Fitzsimmons was pleased with the defence, saying they played "really well", but noted that the offence looked inexperienced.
The Lazers next game is scheduled for September 24 when they host the Watrous Wildcats.
