Injury overshadows victory
- Details
- Published on Thursday, October 16, 2014
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner
There are times in sports when the final score doesn’t matter at the end of the game. Friday, Oct. 10 was one of those times for the Neepawa Tigers football team and it was for all the wrong reasons.
During NACI’s 28-22 victory over Dauphin in Rural Manitoba Football League action, one of the senior members of the Tigers as well as a well-respected team leader was knocked out of the game with a broken arm. Out of respect for the family, the Neepawa Banner will not name the player in question.
Neepawa Tigers Coach Dave Clark said the damage that was done is serious.
“He had surgery on Saturday in Brandon and had a plate and six pins put in [his arm]. There may be a little bit of tendon damage,” said Clark. “There is limited movement in the fingers right now, but with physiotherapy, the hope is it’ll come back.”
The injury happened during a punt return in the second quarter while Neepawa trailed Dauphin. Clark noted that despite the serious nature of the break, the player in question still took the time to rally the team and focus them on the task at hand.
“The team was very concerned about the whole thing, but the class act that he is, he called a couple of the other captains over while we were waiting for the ambulance and basically told them ‘you guys have to stay focused and don’t worry about me and maybe use it. Use this as fuel.’ Because, at the time, we were down, I believe 20-6,” said Clark. “It inspired the players a bit. They knew they still had a job to do and dedicated the rest of their play and ultimately the win to him.”
Brenden Cowan led the way on offence, rushing for a 160 yards on 12 carries and scored 3 touchdowns. He also contributed a return for 50 yards and a pair of two-point conversions, while going 5 for 13 in passing for 70 yards and one interception. Cody Pasowisty ran for 65 yards on 10 carries, while Brady Plett amassed 41 yards.
On the defensive side, Will Birnie was the top Tiger with 10 tackles. Nick Kuharski and Dillan Neufeld also came up big with five tackles each.
The victory against Dauphin improves the Tiger’s record on the season to 5-2. The final regular season game for Neepawa is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 17 against East Parkland. Clark said win or lose, that game will not have a huge impact on the playoffs, but noted it’s still important for the team as a means of keeping their recent wave of momentum going.
“The win against Dauphin, it solidifies our second place finish in the North Division, which means not matter what happens in our next game we’ll likely play the first place team in the South on a crossover,” said Clark. “But this final regular season game is still important because we’re be able to work on a few things and also, a win will better our win loss totals from a year ago. So that’s a pride type thing, the players would like to achieve.”
