Some teams get into the playoffs through the back door. The Muskie ‘A’ football squad decided to sneak in through the basement.
Despite a 23-10 loss to the Sisler Spartans on Friday at Winnipeg Stadium, the Muskies (0-7) still qualified for the WHSFL post-season after the Kelvin Clippers (0-7) lost Thursday night.
The black-and-gold snagged the playoff spot by having a better points for and against margin than the Clippers, setting up a quarter-final clash with the top-ranked Oak Park Raiders this Friday afternoon in Winnipeg.
“There’s no pressure on us,” head coach Bob Swing said about meeting the Raiders, who beat the Muskies 42-0 in the regular-season opener here Sept. 6.
“We’re 0-7, and they’re 7-0. I don’t care what they say. They’re going to be overconfident. We can surprise a lot of people,” Swing added.
The Spartans (3-4) held an 8-7 lead at half-time, and were up 16-10 with two minutes to go before breaking free for a 73-yard rushing touchdown to ice the victory.
For the second-consecutive week, Kevin Gemmell found the end zone via a punt return, this time covering 77 yards. He has accounted for five of the six Muskie touchdowns this season.
Kyle McTavish’s 25-yard field goal rounded out the Muskie scoring.
