Steinbach Regional Sabres claim victory in homecoming game

The Steinbach Regional Secondary School Sabres weren’t as convincing as coaches hoped, but they still came out with a win in their homecoming game Oct. 3.

The Sabres took down the River East Kodiaks 36-22. Twice the Sabres took multi-touchdown leads only for the Kodiaks to storm back to make it a game. With the Sabres up 29-22, Ryan Martin had the play of the day, shaking off several River East tacklers en route to a 55-yard punt return touchdown to clinch victory.

“There’s lots of good, there’s some mediocre, and then there’s some stuff we definitely have to improve on,” varsity head coach Stephan Fedus said.

“The film from today’s game, there will be a lot of teaching points. There will be lots to celebrate but still lots of stuff that we can teach.”

Fedus stressed the need for Steinbach to stay disciplined, by not taking penalties and staying responsible through plays. River East converted two fake punts and a wide receiver reverse-pass trick play to keep drives alive throughout the game and keep the score closer than it could have been.

“We took some penalties that were selfish or undisciplined, we never like that,” Fedus said.

“There was just some communication breakdowns that led to big plays for our opponents. Some things we’ve been working on and trying to clean up… We have to do it all the time.”

The Sabres already thin roster is being tested by injury right now, with Fedus crediting grade 12 players for putting in work on offense and defense during practice to help the team prepare for games.

“We might have a short bench, but they’re very committed,” he said.

“We’re still able to run quality practices… We’d like to stay away from the injuries, but that’s also part of football.”

The Sabres found success in the run game, dominating when they got into short yardage. Quarterback Angelo Stoyanov broke several sneaks for big yardage, including for a touchdown. He even had a second score called back on a questionable fumble call when it appeared he crossed the plane of the endzone and hit the ground before losing the ball.

“Our offensive line is pretty strong this year, and we’ve just got to embrace that and let them do what they like to do,” Fedus said.

Fedus added the team was particularly happy with the win after a pair of shutout losses the previous weeks to top programs in the province. The Sabres lost 40-0 to Vincent Massey (Winnipeg) and 49-0 to Dakota.

“You never know how a group is going to face (adversity) until you go through it,” Fedus said.

“These kids have been going through it, but they were definitely getting anxious to have some success.”

The Sabres take on the 0-5 Sturgeon Heights Huskies Oct. 10 for their final home game of the season. Kick-off is at 4 p.m. as the days grow shorter.

The team’s regular season ends with a game against the top seed of the division Oak Park in Winnipeg.

For more photos from homecoming, be sure to check out Carillon Sports: Second Shots on thecarillon.com/sports, published every Wednesday.