If you just look at the score, it wasn't a pretty game, but the coach is still happy with his players.
The Lakeside Bombers hosted the Hudson Bay Riders in a six-man football game in Watson on October 15. Despite missing five starters and losing a sixth just minutes into the game, the Bombers never gave up, said coach Mike Saretsky.
"Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong," Saretsky said. "But the boys kept trying. They played every play and showed real character."
Lakeside's 76-0 demise started with the Riders running back the opening kick-off for a touchdown to take a 6-0 lead.
Shortly after, David Veilleux of the Bombers was hurt when he tackled a Rider and dragged his opponent down. Veilleux was hurt on the play and ended up being carried off the field on a backboard and taken away in an ambulance.
"He's okay," said Saretsky. "He'll just be sore for a while."
Saretsky, who is a member of the Watson Fire Department, and five other members of the department who were at the game, along with three EMTs, were on top of the situation in minutes.
"I just want to thank them for their quick work and the professional way they handled the incident," Saretsky said.
With that loss, the Bombers ended up putting players into positions they'd never played before, he noted.
"They never complained, they never said they didn't know what they were doing. They just kept trying," Saretsky said proudly. "We didn't have any other option."
When the final whistle blew, Hudson Bay had defeated Lakeside 76-0.
"This was the best team in the province right now," he said. "I told the boys that the football season is long and there are lots of ups and down."
The Bombers' next game is against Canora at 4 p.m. on October 21 at Watson School.
"If we get our starters back, then we could give them a really good game," Saretsky noted.
As well, as being the team's last game of the regular season, a special guest might be in attendance at the game, Saretsky said.
They are working on getting Ted Urness, a former Saskatchewan Roughrider and a member of the CFL Hall of Fame who currently lives in Rose Valley, to do the ceremonial coin toss at the game and sign autographs.
Urness, a Regina native, joined his hometown team in 1961 and was named a CFL and Western All-Star six times over his 10-year career. He played in six Western finals and three Grey Cup games, winning in 1966.
Called the best centre on either side of the border by former Bombers and Vikings head coach Bud Grant, he was named the West's Outstanding Lineman in 1968. Urness was inducted to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
