If the Estevan Chargers' offence had more luck hanging onto the ball, Saturday's 62-28 loss to the Yorkton Gridders may well have been a nail-biter.
Offensively, the Penta Completions Estevan Minor Football peewee squad had one of its best showings of the year, but it could have been even better, according to head coach Steve McLellan.
"The score wasn't really a huge indication of how that game went. It was kind of like a syndrome where turnovers killed us. You have to deal with it and move on."
McLellan estimated that the Gridders scored four touchdowns off turnovers.
"Certainly, for our (scoring) opportunities, we kept pace. We had more defensive stops than they did, but every time we got the ball we gave it away," he added.
Jordan Howie had three Estevan touchdowns, with Donny Mortenson adding the other on what McLellan called "a beautiful run" for about 75 yards.
He said Adam Paulson took on three defenders with "textbook blocking" to help make the big play happen.
The Gridders led 28-14 at the half.
The Chargers' defence had their work cut out for them and did an admirable job, McLellan said.
"The biggest thing was they were out there a lot in really poor conditions. With all the turnovers we gave up, sometimes it'd be nice if we could get some turnovers back, but that's every coach's dream.
"They were on the field for three-quarters of the game. I was really proud of them."
With the team's last game coming up on Saturday against the Vikings in Regina, McLellan said his players need to focus on doing their own part and not trying to do too much.
