ESTEVAN - The Estevan Coldwell Banker Choice Real Estate U13 Chargers football team began this season the same way they finished last year: by beating the Moose Jaw Spartans.
The Chargers knocked off the Spartans 33-12 in Moose Jaw on Saturday afternoon in a rematch of last year’s Moose Jaw Minor Football League championship game, which Estevan also won.
“We had a good feeling about this team coming into the season,” said Chargers’ head coach Matt Schell. “We had a couple of really good weeks of practice.”
The game was scoreless after the first quarter in what Schell described as a defensive battle. Estevan had opportunities to take the lead, but a couple of mistakes – a bad snap and a dropped pass – resulted in turnovers on downs.
“We’re just happy that our defence stood up and held them down until we could find our rhythm,” said Schell.
TJ Thompson opened the scoring for Estevan with a long touchdown run in the second quarter. Moose Jaw replied with a score of their own, but then Thompson scored again to give Estevan a 14-6 advantage. A Waylon Mantei touchdown run on a reverse late in the second frame was negated by a penalty.
Moose Jaw scored early in the third quarter, but Schell said the Chargers then started imposing their will offensively and capitalized on mistakes by the Spartans defence.
Mantei scored twice in the fourth quarter, and Taylor Lisafeld scored on a quarterback scramble.
The Chargers defence was led by Brody Hogg, who “caused a lot of havoc” on the defensive line, Schell said.
Some underage players also had big roles, including offensive linemen Parker Moffatt and Mason Lesy, who are both nine but made their blocks, Schell said. Cyrus Schell, who is only eight, sealed the game defensively with a quarterback sack that led to a fumble. Another first-year player, Zach Sta. Ana, had a strong game, Matt Schell said.
Much like last year, the Chargers knew from the start they had a lot of potential, and Matt Schell believes they will be up there with last year’s championship team.
“Some of the faces will change on this team, but the mentality stays the same, and it looked like we didn’t miss a beat,” said Schell.
They are still accepting players. Schell noted they have one female member and they would accept more.
The Chargers will have their home opener on Sept. 9 when they host the Moose Jaw Lions at 6:30 p.m. at the Woodlawn Athletic Park’s Dana Quewezance Memorial Field.
“It’s fun football to watch and they make a lot of good plays,” said Schell.
