For most of the Kinsmen Moose Jaw Minor Football Leauge’s U12 division ply this year the Estevan Chargers have use the size of their offensive line to move the sticks and score points.
“The Wall” is a major reason the Chargers 2 - 4 record and a trip to the post season. The Chargers can tangle with anyone successfully on any given night.
On Friday evening the Moose Jaw Lions cracked the wall to defeat the Chargers 54 - 20 in semifinal playoff action in the Kinsmen Moose Jaw Minor Football League on Friday evening.
“It was a big win. The boys came out ready to play and I think they brought it on the field tonight,” Moose Jaw Lions head coach Kellyn Bollinger said.
Asked about the Chargers coming for victory, especially in the first quarter, Bollinger agreed.
“Oh yeah they’ve got some great players. They have some really good athletes and they have a huge offensive line. I think they gave us a run in the first quarter. They had one touchdown called back, that really helped us out. So we had a clean game tonight,” he said.
A major accomplishment was the Lions breaking through The Wall or Estevan’s massive offensive line.
“Yeah the boys did a good job staying and going forward even though they were mismatched a lot of times against those big guys,” he said, adding “but they kept coming forward and they kept making it hard on them.”
Bollinger said the key to the Lions success against the Chargers was the ability to “spread the ball around and we had different weapons on offence able to make them work in defence.”
Standouts in the field Friday night included Clark Alexander “who had a heck of a game. He came in as our long snapper on our kicks. And I think we made most of our kicks tonight. He also had four, five or six runs that were really good out there.”
Another major component in the Liibs chest of weapons was quarterback, Jamie Lindsey, who played amazing. He said he had a lot of..
“He had a lot of a lot of throws with guys right in his face and he was putting them on guys.”
The game doesn’t get any easier as the Lions are up against the tough Bulldogs.
“Next week we have our work cut out for us against the Bulldogs. The last time we played them So both of the quarterbacks got injured so I’m looking forward to playing them full strength. We’re going to have a heck of a game.”
“Tonight was a hard fought battle. There were a few injuries there and yeah the Lions took it,” Estevan Chargers head coach James Haagsman said.
Haagsman said the game - especially the first quarter - went well for the Chargers.
“Everything was going well according to game plan and you know it was competitive and well fought. And then things kind of broke down,” he said.
Commenting on the largely ineffectiveness of The Wall Haagsman said the Lions solved the problem and came up with solutions.
“They have some great tacklers and they know how to get through their gaps.”
The Lions did not completely solve the wall because when The Wall Age did work, it was highly effective and got the Chargers great field location.
“At this age feet work is king right and we have to prepare for the Spartans now.”
With a 2 - 4 record he is proud with the team’s play over the season.
The Chargers losses often came down to a couple of plays one way or the other which resulted in an Estevan loss.
“It was some great football to watch. And the kids are always having fun so that’s the most important part.”
“The wins are great but the smiles are better,” he said.
The Chargers next season will see a lot of players graduate to U14 which means there will be a rebuild.
But overall for Estevan youth football the talent moving up could well mean another great Oilers season.
The Oilers finished first in U14’s regular season. The only team to beat the tough Moose Jaw Raiders.
Haagsman helped build the foundation for Oilers success by developing many of the players in U12.
“A good majority do move up but we’re just hoping for new recruits to come in from our lower level.”
Estevan is highly active in the Razorbacks program.
“I’m just extremely proud of these kids and they fought to the end. We made a good climb there at the game there in the fourth quarter. That is just a testament to the caliber of player they are,” Haagsman added.
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