Vikings hand Pirates first loss of JV season

A slow, gritty junior varsity football game turned into pure pandemonium for 10 minutes at Doug Steeves Field on Friday.

Even though it was scoreless through more than 30 minutes, the Vincent Massey Vikings kept pressing and it eventually paid off to the tune of three late touchdowns in a 20-14 victory over the Grant Park Pirates.

The Vikings improved to 4-1 in the Winnipeg High School Football League nine-man JV season, handing the league-leading Pirates (4-1) their first loss. “It felt amazing playing against one of the best teams in Canada, and we were tied with them during the first half,” said receiver Asher Glover.

For the entire first half and most of the third quarter, the teams refused to give each other a thing. The craziest play of the first 24 minutes was when Dylan Schermann punted a ball off the side of his foot but recovered it and ran for a first down.

The field started to tilt in Massey’s favour in the second half, though, and eventually Aiden Clisby and Glover said enough’s enough. The lefty quarterback threw a picture-perfect 25-yard touchdown pass to Glover, who brought it down against double coverage, sparking a 15-minute scoring frenzy with 3:30 left in the third. “I saw separation, great ball in the air thrown by my quarterback, Aiden, and I caught the ball straight into the grass. I didn’t even know I got a touchdown,” Glover said.

“It felt amazing, first touchdown of the game coming back to the sideline.”

But the Pirates blocked the extra point and answered quickly as Orlando Brown returned the ensuing kickoff deep into Massey territory, setting up a Jayden Botelho rushing major with 35 seconds to go in the frame.

Vikings kick returner Lexan White did him one better, taking Grant Park’s kickoff straight back for six.

“One of my best friends, Dennis (Dyakov), told me to bring it to the house,” White said. “I was like, ‘OK, I gotta.’ I got the ball, saw a gap, and I’d say I’m faster than everybody else on that field, so I took it to the house.

“I got a big boost of confidence when I saw that gap.”

The special teams chaos wasn’t done yet, as Viking Lance Burton forced a fumble on the next kickoff and gave his offence the ball back heading into the fourth quarter.

After a pair of turnovers, perhaps the most patient player on the field found the space he’d been searching for all day.

Vikings running back Lota Okaekwu was bottled up most of the game but suddenly took a handoff up the middle and bounced outside for a 54-yard score to lead 20-7.

“At the start, I was super nervous because they’re a really hard team and their defence is super good, but yeah, I guess I put trust in my team,” said Okaekwu, who finished with 15 carries for 170 yards. “I just stopped trying to get to the outside and more just hit them head-on.

“(My offensive linemen) were blocking super good and pushing guys to the inside so I could get to the outside.”

The Pirates responded with a touchdown drive to cut the lead to six, but the Vikings managed to bleed the remaining 5:41 of the clock on two drives.

Few teams have demanded more from Massey’s defence this year, but the boys stepped up.

“It’s definitely stressful, but you just got to keep your mind and play your part,” White said. “Any mess-up, you gotta fix it next play, no matter what.”

Massey closes the regular season at home next Tuesday against the River East Kodiaks.

Then, it’s playoff time as the Vikings try to defend the nine-man provincial crown.

“Coming into playoffs, we’ll be facing bigger, better teams,” Glover said. “So we’re going to have to put in the grind and play better.”

Today, the Crocus Plainsmen (2-2) host the Sturgeon Heights Huskies at 4 p.m.

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