The Muskie varsity ‘A’ football team ended its season Friday in Winnipeg with a 28-1 loss to the Churchill Bulldogs in the quarter-finals of the WHSFL’s ‘AA’ conference.
The seventh-ranked Muskies (1-6), having allowed the most points over the regular season, were the definite underdogs against the second-seeded Bulldogs (6-1)—the highest scoring team in the league.
“Churchill is a very good football team,” line coach Tony Geense said after the game. “They are well-disciplined, and one or two small mistakes by us began to snowball and that’s really hard on the team.
“But they never quit, and even though things started snowballing and fell apart, they just kept coming and never quit,” he added.
The Bulldogs scored 21 points in the first half to take control of the game, but the Muskies held the league’s most potent offence to just one touchdown after the break.
“I’m so proud of these guys, and it’s emotional,” said defensive backs coach Greg Allan. “Unfortunately, our offence couldn’t sustain drives. We had a couple of good opportunities to make plays and it just never happened.”
Adding to the emotional scene in the locker-room after the game was that some had played their last game as a Muskie. Jake Esselink was one of those eight players.
“I can’t put into words how proud I am of these guys. These guys didn’t quit. They kept playing and they kept playing and they kept playing,” he remarked.
“I’ve got to give the other guys credit, though. They ran it at us good and they were good.”
“We try really hard, and the locker-room was really emotional that we lost,” echoed Johannes Gerber, who also played his final game for the black-and-gold.
“But it was also because we worked as a team, and that we were working together and that we tried our hardest, and that kind of takes away from losing,” he added.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
