Vikings focused on Crocus after beatdown

The Vincent Massey Vikings are going to want to flush that one down the toilet and pretend it never happened.

The Vikings (3-3) had their final home game of the season spoiled with an abysmal 59-6 loss to the Oak Park Raiders (3-2), who appeared to have their scoring set on autopilot from the very get-go during Winnipeg High School Football League varsity action at Doug Steeves Field on Friday.

The Raiders managed to grab touchdowns on all but one drive in the game, with scores from running backs Tavin Parani, Rylan Baylis, and Adonis Glaud and wide receivers Adam Kilmister, Travis Irving, Taija Manalastas, and Sam Wikdahl.

Massey’s only bright spot of the game came with seven minutes left, when quarterback Charlie Gauthier connected with Logan Van Santen near Oak Park’s 20-yard line before running it in to the house to put the Vikings on the board for a 56-6 score.

Fans may have thought it was a game-winner by the way the Massey sideline exploded — but in a game like that, avoiding the shutout against one of the league’s top teams felt like a win in itself, according to Vikings head coach Mike Steeves.

“It was great to see that, and the guys were obviously enjoying it as well,” said Steeves post-game. “I think it teaches them to find the fun whenever they can, and as I saw someone say, ‘Find the giggles when you can!’ because if winning is the only fun part of sport, it’s going to be a tough life.”

Albeit too late, that touchdown seemed to spark another level to Massey’s game, as the Raiders’ following drive was cut short of a touchdown and ended up with only three points up on the board after Rylan Patching-Bowen smashed the ball through the uprights for a field goal. There were four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, yet that was the first time the Vikings had stopped Oak Park from reaching the end zone.

Steeves said the score doesn’t tell the whole story, though.

“The scoreboard isn’t everything,” he said. “I always tell the guys, the scoreboard can’t define you, so if you look at it, it was a tough game for us, but I think we won a lot of battles that most people won’t see. We had some key injuries today, but all in all, we were happy with our performance.

“We’ve won lots of games that I’m not proud of, and we’ve lost some games that I am proud of, so I think for most people, when they’re told the story of a game, it’s ‘We won or we lost,’ but we want our players to say, ‘This is what we did during the game.’ I think those are the battles and little joys in the game.”

Regardless of Friday’s score, one thing for sure is that this game doesn’t mean nearly as much to the Vikings as next week’s game against the Crocus Plainsmen will. The classic rivalry is a head-to-head between Brandon’s two football clubs, and Steeves is here for it all.

“It’s Crocus week, there’s no more to say than that,” Steeves said. “You’d have to chop a finger off to miss that game. It doesn’t even matter what the season’s like, wins or losses, championships or no championships, it’s just like having bragging rights for fantasy football. You have bragging rights for a year.”

The Vikings will be hoping to repeat history from last year, when Massey blanked Crocus 21-0 at Doug Steeves Field on Sept. 13. Crocus enters Thursday’s matchup 1-5, but there’s no doubt it will be anyone’s game right from kickoff, so Steeves will have his troops ready.

“Crocus is a really good football team, so it’ll be such a fun battle, and we’re excited for it,” he said. “Both of us have had a tough season, but that’s our Super Bowl, and there’s a lot of rivalry, so we know what’s in front of us.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com