With a 24-10 win over the Regina Dinos on Sunday, the 2010 Estevan Lafrentz Trucking Steelers put themselves in position to accomplish something no other Estevan bantam football team has ever done; qualify for the playoffs.
According to Estevan head coach Preston Majeran, the Steelers are now waiting for one more game to be played today between Notre Dame and Regina Mounties. If the Mounties lose, the Steelers are playoff bound.
The Steelers and Dinos were tied in the standings heading into their match-up on Sunday, and after a big win over rival Weyburn, Estevan had momentum on their side, and were able to pull off the victory.
"The first half was pretty tight and they were winning 10-7 at halftime," said Steelers' defensive secondary coach Mark Tribiger. "Then the kids realized they had to step it up a little bit, and they actually returned the kickoff for a touchdown to go ahead. We didn't really look back from there, and we held them to no points in the second half."
Leading the way on defence for the Steelers was outside linebacker Eric Arnott, who had seven tackles, three assists and two fumble recoveries. The Steelers had one touchdown in each half; Evan Tarnes got the only TD in the first half, while Nolan Tide found the end zone in the second half.
According to Tribiger, the Steelers were ecstatic after the game, knowing that they could be the first Estevan-based bantam football team to ever qualify for the playoffs.
"They're pretty pumped about it," he said. "They knew what they had to do, and we have a lot of momentum with the win over Weyburn and the win over the Dinos, so hopefully we can keep it rolling into the post-season."
The Steelers (3-5) would enter the Regina Minor Football playoffs as the eighth seed and would be in tough against the number one seeded Lumsden Jr. Devils (6-0-1). The two clubs have already met once this season in Lumsden, with the Devils coming out on top 38-14.
As for any mental advantage the Devils may carry into the game with the first overall finish and a victory over the Steelers under their belt, Tribiger doesn't see it being an issue. In fact he sees it having an opposite effect. His team would have nothing to lose being the eighth seed, and they had a great second half against Lumsden in their one and only match-up this season.
"We know what they're about," he said. "In our second half against them we realized they were a good team, but we're a good team too. We handled them pretty well when we played them in Lumsden, so hopefully we can remember that and keep building off of it, and we should do all right against them."
Majeran said the Steelers' first potential playoff birth reflects very well on the city of Estevan.
"After only a three year program, it will look really good on the town and their support for minor football," said Majeran.
