Kodiaks blank Vikings in JV football playoffs

The Vincent Massey Vikings left it all on the field, including the football, as their junior varsity season ended on Wednesday.

The Vikings fought the River East Kodiaks to the final whistle, but in a game where points came at a premium, five fumbles and a few pivotal penalties cost them an 18-0 loss in the Winnipeg High School Football League nine-man JV quarterfinals at Doug Steeves Field.

“It’s all right. It is what it is. It sucks to lose, but the kids gave ‘er their all. Emotions were flying,” said Vikings head coach Gavin Young. “Kudos to River East; they had a great game plan, they had great athletes, and they made better plays than we made today.”

The Kodiaks nearly had their opening drive halted by a holding penalty, but quarterback Nick Fawcett lobbed a deep pass to Cole Faulkner, who came back to the ball and brought it down for a 30-yard gain.

Four plays later, Fawcett hit Faulkner for the opening touchdown from eight yards out midway through the quarter.

The Vikings made sure that didn’t happen again.

“The guy we had on (Faulkner) before, his ankle was a little hurt, so we put Bogdan Boiko on him and he locked him up pretty much the whole game. They switched to the run game after that,” said linebacker Lance Burton, Massey’s nominee for defensive player of the year.

Massey stuffed the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, then responded with a promising drive as Jace Woloski and Lota Okaekwu ran the ball well and quarterback Nelson Green hit tight end Jaxson Dutchyshen for a first down.

Massey nearly picked up another big chunk on a fake punt, but the play was called back for holding.

The Vikings defence stuffed the Kodiaks, then Okaekwu ran the punt back for 30 yards, but coughed the ball up and the visitors recovered.

The next time River East started moving the ball, Massey nearly came up with another big stop as Burton snuffed out a running play. However, he was called for unnecessary roughness for a hit to the head, giving the Kodiaks life once more.

After a few first downs, Santee Lloyd broke free towards the left sideline, then turned and tiptoed his way in for a touchdown with five minutes left in the half. Despite another big stop on the two-point attempt, Massey trailed 12-0.

“Penalties are tough because they’re something you can’t control, but it is what it is; it’s part of the game,” Young said. “You’re going to have calls go for you and against you and that shouldn’t define how the game goes. You should take the game into your own hands.”

Woloski answered with a 31-yard run, and Massey worked into the red zone but got stopped on third down. After getting the ball back, Green fumbled to end the first half.

The Vikings started the third quarter with a solid drive, and Okaekwu nearly made their play of the game when he reversed field and outran everyone to the left sideline for a would-be 42-yard touchdown. However, an illegal block penalty nullified the score.

A significant officiating error cancelled out the next one.

On second down, River East attempted a backwards pass that was dropped. A referee blew the whistle while the ball was on the ground, and a moment later, the Vikings had it and raced 60-plus yards to the end zone.

After discussion, the play was cancelled entirely due to the inadvertent whistle. That meant not only was the touchdown off the board, it also remained second down.

The Kodiaks punted two plays later, still comfortably ahead by two scores. The 12-0 scoreline didn’t change heading into the fourth quarter.

The good news for Massey was River East wasn’t getting much done offensively.

“I feel the D stepped up a lot of the time. We had a great game defence-wise,” Burton said, adding they made good adjustments on the defensive line to stop the ground game.

“We kept going A-gap instead of B-gap because when we go A-gap we can stop the run easier. When the running back would shoot outside, I could chase him down.

“I like the challenge.”

Liam Sisson gave the Vikings a boost with a fumble recovery to start the final frame, but Okaekwu gave it right back with a fumble on the following play.

After a few stymied possessions, Asher Glover, who had been the Vikings’ engine much of the day, fumbled fighting for extra yards with about four minutes remaining.

The Kodiaks were able to drain enough clock to put the game out of reach. The Vikings called two timeouts to force them to punt, only for River East to pin them inside their own five-yard line.

On the last play from scrimmage, the Vikings fumbled once more and the Kodiaks fell on it in the end zone.

Despite the loss, Young was proud of the effort his players delivered, and the work his coaching staff put in to get them ready.

He explained that all 38 kids on the roster got into the game, including some who are new to football this year.

“Liam Doherty, our defensive co-ordinator, did a great job at scheming for those guys. Offensively, it was just cold; it wasn’t our day, but Ty Rowan does an unbelievable job prepping all these kids,” Young said.

“Kudos to (the Kodiaks’) coaching staff; they’re great people, and the way they coach the game is what you want to see.”

The moments after the game were still tough to handle. The Vikings gathered for one last team huddle while Kodiaks’ players took photos underneath the scoreboard.

It’s something Burton doesn’t want to feel again.

“I’m going to use it towards the gym,” Burton said. “I’m going to use it to get better, probably try out for Team Manitoba in the spring. Every time I train, I’ll remember this.”

• • •

Meanwhile, in Winnipeg, the Crocus Plainsmen lost 30-7 to the Steinbach Sabres in their quarterfinal, after trailing 12-7 at halftime.

Massey’s varsity squad hosts Murdoch MacKay in the Anavets Bowl AAAA Tier 1 quarterfinals on Friday at 4 p.m.

The Plainsmen varsity team heads to Winnipeg on Friday to play the Elmwood Giants in the Bramwell Bowl (AAAA Tier 1 consolation side) semifinals at 5 p.m.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com