SPORTS FLASHBACK 1975: Blocked field goal gives Landmark Janzen Cup

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/10/2023 (574 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Landmark Dutchmen blocked a field goal attempt by the Wheelers from the 20-yard line, with less than a minute remaining in the game, to win back the Rural Manitoba Intermediate Nine-Man Football League title they had relinquished to the Steinbach team a year ago.

With the two top scoring teams in the league battling for the championship, fans were expecting anything but the defensive struggle which saw both teams put just 27 points on the board across 60 minutes.

The name of the game is football, and the running backs and pass receivers get all the touchdowns, and all the glory. But that wasn’t the case in this year’s final. A single on a wide field goal and another on a punt provided Landmark with the margin of victory.

The Wheelers got the early lead when Luc Taillefer completed a 19 yard pass to Ernie Hiebert, to move the ball to the one yard line, and Ken Prociw carried over for the game’s first major at the five minute mark of the first quarter.

A convert by Leroy Brandt made it 7-0 and Randy Penner’s kickoff through the end zone increased the margin to eight points.

Steinbach got the ball back deep in the Landmark end, as the result of a high snap to the Dutchmen punter, and a 20-yard field goal put the Wheelers up by 11 before the end of the first quarter, and appeared to have the game well in hand.

After the kickoff, Wilmer Penner threw a pass that lost four yards, but then Gerald Reimer got behind the Wheelers’ defence and picked up 87 yards on a second down pass and run play. Ken Barkman carried over from the four on the first play of the second quarter to narrow the gap to 11-6.

Three minutes later, James Giesbrecht picked off a Wheeler’s pass to set up Landmark’s second major. A missed Dutchmen field goal gave Landmark a 13-11 half time lead.

Kicking off the second half, Randy Penner booted the ball through the end zone to bring Steinbach within one point, but that was the closest they came.

The teams traded single points in the third and fourth quarters to bring the final score to 14-13.

Steinbach had one last chance to win the game with two minutes left when a roughing penalty put the ball on the Landmark eight. With second down and goal to go, the Wheelers took too long in the huddle and were forced to attempt a field goal from the 20.

Ron Plett, a Landmark defensive standout all day, burst through to block the attempt, preserving the victory for the visiting team.

Wilmer Penner was good on 11 of 18 passes for 236 yards in the game, and was awarded the game ball by his teammates following the victory.

A week earlier, the veteran Landmark quarterback led his team to the first of back-to-back playoff victories by a one-point margin.

In the semi-final against St Laurent, Penner reached way back into the playbook to catch St Laurent napping on an 50-yard sleeper play, which moved Landmark within striking distance in the dying minutes.

Trailing St Laurent by 10 points early in the fourth quarter, tight end Bruce Reimer didn’t return to the huddle, but remained near the sideline and on the next play Penner hit him on a 50-yard pass-and-run play. Adding a two-point conversion narrowed the lead to 20-18.

Landmark got the ball back with three minutes remaining, and seven plays later, Martin Voss split the uprights from 15 yards to give his team a 21-20 victory.