Spartans advance to Murray Black Cup

The Neelin Spartans defeated the ParkWest Outlaws 49-10 in the first round of the Rural Manitoba Football League tier two playoffs to earn a spot in the Murray Black Cup final.

“It was a great game,” said head coach Jacob Doerksen. “We battled hard. ParkWest is a good team; they’re tough. They gave us some problems, but we were able to keep fighting and find some answers.”

The Spartans finished the regular season with a 3-3 record in Doerksen’s first year as head coach following the departure of longtime head coach Rob Cullen.

Their record wasn’t good enough to earn a spot in the Doug Steeves Cup, where the league’s top four teams play, but they did earn a spot in the Murray Black Cup, where the third- and fourth-ranked teams in each division square off for a tier-two championship.

“For me it’s more football; it’s extending the season … we don’t want it to end,” said Doerksen when asked what it meant to reach a final in his first year as head coach.

For the Grade 12s on the team, reaching the final of the Murray Black Cup is something they’ve worked towards for years.

“Since Grade 12, we’ve been planning to make it to a championship game, and the boys were so hype today and we did it,” said Grade 12 linebacker Alvin Ifeanyi-Orike. “We knew this could be our last game playing for Neelin, so we had to show up and get to the championship that we planned from two years ago.”

The game had one of the strangest starts imaginable.

ParkWest received the opening kickoff and marched down to Neelin’s five-yard line where it seemed they would score an early touchdown.

They fumbled the ball on the goal line, allowing Aiden Moore to scoop up the ball and secure it for Neelin.

Just when it looked like they were out of danger, the Spartans literally dropped the ball themselves, giving the Outlaws another chance to score from inside the 20-yard line.

Jomi Samuel bailed his team out with a huge sack that pushed the Outlaws back. Two plays later, the Spartans stuffed a run up the middle on third down, giving them back the ball.

After the strange start, the rest of the opening quarter was smooth for the Spartans, who racked up a quick 14-0 lead thanks to a 95-yard run by Grade 12 running back Yusuf Eltawil with 7:39 remaining in the quarter and a 30-yard touchdown by Emeka Onuke on a sweep to the right with 2:36 remaining in the quarter.

“Our linemen were blocking well,” said Onuke, who celebrated his birthday alongside the win. “Most of the blocks on those runs were good blocks; that’s what leads to the touchdowns.”

He added that he was more focused on getting the win than any personal accolades coming his way on his birthday.

The defence also found big plays in the first half which quickly snowballed the momentum in Neelin’s favour.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Moore recorded an interception by stepping up on a wheel route to stop another ParkWest drive.

They kept the Outlaws’ offence off the board for the entire first half with a consistent display of hard work and technical understanding.

The only blemish on an otherwise flawless half for the Spartans’ defence was the indirect responsibility for a safety that gave the Outlaws their first points of the contest.

With eight minutes remaining in the half, ParkWest was in a position to score. The Spartans held strong, stopping the attempted pass on third and short to force a turnover on downs; however, Lekan Omojowo slapped the helmet of a downed Outlaw at the end of the play, resulting in a flag for objectionable conduct.

Neelin’s offence still got the ball since the flag occurred after the play, but it did start the drive on the goal line. Onuke received the ball on another sweep and failed to get out of the end zone before he was tackled, making the score 14-2 and giving the ball back to ParkWest.

The defence redeemed itself on the following drive, forcing a three-and-out to give the Spartans a chance to extend the lead.

Eltawil ran the ball down to the two-yard line, and a play later quarterback Sean Kelly ran the ball in for a score with 3:09 remaining in the half.

After a failed extra-point attempt, the Spartans led 20-2 and kept the offence rolling for another score before the end of the half.

Onuke set the score up with a 24-yard run to the right. On the following play, Kelly found Taven Adema in the end zone for an eight-yard passing touchdown with 52 seconds remaining in the half.

“Sean Kelly had a great game,” said Doerksen. “He was very smart with the ball, made a lot of great decisions.”

The Spartans went for the two-point conversion, and Kelly found Onuke in the end zone on a shallow pass to make the score 28-2 going into the half.

The game was over at this point, barring a miracle for the Outlaws. Gritty they were, but the athleticism on Neelin’s side was a bit too much for the visiting team to handle.

Their best hope of a comeback lay in a great start to the third quarter. The Outlaws attempted an onside kick in an attempt to jump-start the offence, but Neelin managed to hang onto the ball.

Eltawil extinguished the hopes of a comeback just over a minute and a half into the third with a 55-yard touchdown run where he ran into contact, escaped and reversed field to scamper down the sidelines for the score.

After another failed extra-point attempt, the score was 34-2 in favour of the home squad.

The rest of the game was fairly quiet, though Ifeanyi-Orike stood out for his play on both sides of the ball. With 3:07 remaining in the third quarter, he intercepted a deep ball and took it to the house for a score that extended the lead to 42-2 after the extra-point attempt.

“The linebacker coach told me I should watch 88. All game he’s been open,” said Ifeanyi-Orike about the interception. “I saw it and read it … it was an easy pick-six.”

ParkWest’s only score of the contest came in the dying minutes of the third on a quarterback sneak that managed to punch its way into the end zone, making the score 42-8. A successful two-point conversion later, they trailed 42-10.

In response, Ifeanyi-Orike scored on a 43-yard run up the left side that sealed the game for Neelin with a final score of 49-10.

Five unique players scored touchdowns for Neelin in the contest. The diversity of scoring is something they will look to continue in the final.

“They have to respect everything,” said Onuke. “If they go too far one way, say they cover a receiver with too many guys, there’s an open run on the other side of the field. All that facilitates high scoring.”

In the other semifinal matchup, the Neepawa Tigers defeated the Dauphin Clippers 21-14 to punch their own ticket to the Murray Black Cup final.

Doerksen said that thanks to a one-point scoring differential in their favour, the Spartans will have the opportunity to host the final next week. He and the team plan to prepare with a strong week of practice.

“We will just have a normal week of practice and take them one at a time,” said Doerksen.

EXTRA ENDS: The Interlake Thunder and St. Vital Mustangs won their respective semifinal games and will meet in the Doug Steeves Cup final next week.

The Crocus Plains varsity football team will play the Grant Park Pirates on Nov. 5 to crown the winner of the Bramwell Bowl.

»rmccarthy@brandonsun.com