Neepawa Tigers win home opener

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Published on Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Photos by Eoin Devereux. Dillan Neufeld (83) attempts to break free from the tackling efforts of the Virden Golden Bears.

By Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Press

The NACI Tigers have improved to 2-0 on the season in the Rural Manitoba Football League, after a 30-27 win over the Virden Golden Bears on Friday, Sept. 18.

Quarterback Dylan Oshanyk led the way for the Tigers, going 6 of 14 in the air for 88 yards and three touchdowns. Jeremy Roe aided the effort with four catches for 80 yards, including three touchdown receptions of 37, 20 and 2 yards.

NACI’s running game also helped to keep the club unbeaten, as Taine Middleton and Parker Guy ran for a combined total of 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns. In total, the Tigers were able to accumulate 236 yards on the ground.

Heading into the home opener, NACI head coach Dave Clark said he wanted to diversify the team’s offensive strategy. He noted the coaching staff felt as though they were able to do that successfully against the Bears.  

“Our offence made some great plays, especially early in the game. They really executed extremely well, both in the air and on the ground and that’s what we wanted,” said Clark. “We wanted to have a little more of an even action this week in terms of the [offensive] playbook and I think we did that.”

The Tiger’s defence also had a strong effort, with 61 tackles, three interceptions, three sacks and a forced fumble. Dillan Neufeld and Will Birnie had 13 and 12 tackles respectively, and were each credited with a sack. In the secondary, Jacob Normore added eight tackles and three interceptions.

Clark noted that the defence started strong, but did tire as the game progressed. He noted that was because they had to be on the field for a much longer period of time than the coaching staff had hoped.  He added that penalties on both sides of the ball were also an issue throughout the day. 

“We came out strong. It was our home opener and the guys were excited, coming off the road win last week to start the season. The players were very eager to get out on to the home field and show the fans what they’ve got. The first quarter, we had a great start. Maybe too good of a start though, as we lost a little bit of our focus midway through the game. As the game progressed, our defence spent a little too much time out on the field and that started catching up with them. We also took way too many penalties. I think we ended up giving up over a 100 yards due to penalties and we just can’t have that. I’m happy we got the win but there are a few things we can work on,”

Also over the weekend, the first year players for the Tigers participated in the Dauphin Regional Comprehensive Secondary School Rookie Jamboree. They defeated Swan Valley 38-6 in a rookie scrimmage

The next league game for the NACI Tigers is scheduled for Friday, Sept 25, as the team will play on the road against the Park West Outlaws.

Will Rainka (15) of the NACI Tigers.