SRSS Sabres find win column despite sloppy play

The varsity Steinbach Regional Secondary School Sabres didn’t make it look easy, but came away with their first victory of the year in the Winnipeg High School Football League.

The Sabres held off Crocus Plains 21-16 to move to 1-2 on the season Sept. 25 at A.D. Penner Park.

“It’s tier 1 football, there isn’t a bad team,” head coach Stephen Fedus said after the game, noting the Plainsmen have been playing at the top level in the province for three seasons now.

“(Crocus Plains) has been getting better every year. They play hard and they play tough. Our kids matched that today and we earned a win, so that is good. The kids can celebrate that.”

Fedus pointed to signs of improvement compared to the first two weeks, praising the defense for ball pursuit and improvement on defending the passing game and the offense for bringing a more balanced attack, but was still frustrated by discipline issues.

Referees were throwing flags for Sabres fouls all night, with the coaching staff especially frustrated by the amount of offsides and other mental mistakes that ended up eliminating plays for the home side.

“It’s not effort penalties, it’s not (getting) physically beat and you’re trying to make a save penalties, it’s the undisciplined penalties that are hurting us” Fedus said.

“We got away with it today, but we have to continue to work on that, to strive to be better. We’re working on it… (In) those high pressure moments, we have to be better.”

Fedus said the team is working to put in some kind of consequences if coaches notice offsides or alignment or after-whistle penalties during practices.

“It’s developing athletic maturity, which means being able to focus when you are tired,” he said.

“That’s what’s happening. Guys get tired, they relax on their technique or are sloppy on their technique, however you want to say it, and then those kinds of mistakes happen… You need to come up with a pre-play routine that prepares you to play when you’re tired.”

The Sabres found a pair of big plays from Ryan Martin to generate their offense, with the receiver taking a swing pass 65 yards for a touchdown in the first half and a jet sweep 45 yards in the second half. Martin, who serves as the team’s kickker, was also 3/3 on extra points on the day.

Jonathan Hamilton ended a long first-half drive with a five-yard run to round out the scoring for the Sabres.

Steinbach’s varsity and junior varsity teams will both be in action against Grant Park Oct. 2, for a double-header against Grant Park at Fort Garry Lions Field.

JUNIOR VARSITY

The program’s junior varsity team, playing in the nine-man division of the WHSFL, moved to 2-0 Sept. 23, defeating Murdoch McKay 58-36.

The Sabres looked to be on cruise control through 24 minutes, taking a 35-0 halftime lead, but the opposition stormed back in the second half, taking the opening kick-off for a touchdown and putting the pressure on the hometown Sabres to keep up the pace.

”It took a full team effort that saw contributions in many ways,” coach Kerry Friesen said in a post-game report, giving a shout-out to the offensive line and quarterback Jace Hebert for staying composed in the second half.

“The Sabres’ defense forced multiple big turnovers, giving the offense the ball in fantastic field position throughout the game. This coaching staff is extremely proud of the resolve and focus of this team and the 2-0 start.”

SPRINGFIELD

In Tier 2 of the WHSFL, the Springfield Sabres bounced back from last week’s loss to move to 2-1 on the season. The Sabres defeated Kildonan East 40-6 at the East Side Eagles Field Sept. 25.

River Wiebe continued his strong season, rushing for 96 yards and three touchdowns on junt nine attempts. Korben Meadows-Seidler and Brock Kramble also found the end zone for the Sabres. Kramble also recorded a sack, three tackles and three tackle assists on defense.