The Estevan Comprehensive School Elecs surprised just about everyone with a 25-7 victory over the Swift Current Colts Thursday in their season opener in the Moose Jaw High School Football League.
Not only that, the biggest perceived weakness in their offence did most of the damage, with all three touchdowns coming from the running game.
Dustin MacCuish, Tyler Hodgson and Justin Mosquito combined for over 100 yards from the tailback position.
"The O-line did a good job of opening holes, but I was excited to see Hodgson and MacCuish carry the ball, and Mosquito did well too," said head coach Marco Ricci.
The Elecs, who led 13-0 at the half, also got a 38-yard field goal from Kyle Hovind and a safety.
Ricci said minimizing the errors in the early going was crucial, especially with the team not having played any exhibition games.
"We played some pretty sound football at the very beginning. Normally in a game like that, you'd have lots of (penalties for) procedures, offsides, time count violations.
"We made a commitment to make sure on the first drive that we'd drive the ball and put points on the board."
A lengthy opening drive ended with a blocked field goal, but the Elecs recovered a fumble on the next play to set up a touchdown.
The Elecs' defence also shined, forcing five turnovers, including two picks by Jeremy Godfrey.
"The real surprise for us defensively was the ability of some of our linebackers," said Ricci. "We created lots of turnovers and helped to change the momentum."
He added that some of the other key factors were the Elecs' team size and their ability to contain Swift Current's skilled players.
Saturday's road game against the Vanier Vikings will be a much stiffer challenge for the Elecs.
"This week will be super tough, against the top team," Ricci said.
"They've definitely got all their players back. They're extremely fast and we need to make sure we can contain them."
The other game played last week saw the Vikings defeat the Central Cyclones 28-8, also on Thursday. Central faced the A.E. Peacock Tornadoes yesterday.
