Feature photo: The mothers on the Manitoba Fearless celebrate following their win Sunday. Photo by the Manitoba Fearless.
By: Mike Still (@mikestill94)
Last week, the Manitoba Fearless made history by knocking off the two-time defending Western Women’s Canadian Football League (WWCFL) champion Regina Riot 34-9. The victory snapped an 0-for-9 drought against Regina and served as evidence that the pioneers of women’s football in this region would be a team to watch out for in 2019.
Manitoba lived up to the hype again this weekend in their first of two contests against a rebuilding Winnipeg Wolfpack team, knocking off their provincial rivals 54-0 on Mother’s Day at East Side Eagles field. The game was also played in honour of the late Richard Dudek, a former Vanier Cup champion with the Manitoba Bisons who founded the Wolfpack program.
“It really is heartwarming,” said Fearless head coach Craig Bachynski, a constant since Manitoba helped pioneer the senior women’s game in the late 2000’s.
“The hard work we’ve put in and the games where we’ve been on the other end of the score, that’s what’s gone into it to create the team that we have now.
It’s time for us to be more competitive with other teams in the league like Saskatchewan and we’re ready to embrace it. We have some great young ladies who are playing with us now. They believe. They work out together and do all the things required to be a good team.”
A number of those “great young ladies,” such as pivot Madison Siwicki, running back Brenna Hargrave and receiver Aashanti Tshiovo — who all had stellar games on Sunday — are products of the Manitoba Girls Football Assocation (MGFA). The MGFA was founded in 2011 by Tannis Wilson and Lisa Zueff-Cummings and gives young prospects a chance to hone their skills before moving up to the WWCFL at an older age.
“We’re starting to get the fruit from that league,” added Bachynski. We’re starting to get ladies who’ve progressed and played since they were 12, 13 and 14 and are now 17, 18 and 19.”
It didn’t take long for Manitoba to crack the score board thanks to their up-and-coming talent, as Siwicki — a two-time MGFA All-Star with the Interlake Thunder prior to coming to the Fearless — found Tshiovo on back-to-back passing touchdowns.
The sister of Valley Huskers standout Remis, who’s still eligible for the MGFA but has chosen to play up this season in the hopes of making the next wave of Team Canada as a receiver, made it a trio when she returned a kick for a touchdown following a Wolfpack safety.
Not to be outdone was the Fearless backfield, which was effective all day long despite losing last year’s rushing leader Hallie Eggie early in the contest. Hargrave, a three-time MGFA champion with the St. Vital Mustangs, scored a major and brought the lighting while being assisted by five-year WWCFL veteran Julie Sprague, who brought the thunder.
All three facets were working on Mothers Day, as 2018 Defensive Rookie of the Year Kelly Booth also took an interception back to the house to give the Fearless a 42-0 halftime lead.
Siwicki would add a sneak in the second half to round out the majors while kicker/defensive lineman Brooklyn Dyce — the daughter of CFL coach Bobby and sister to Manitoba Bisons receiver Trysten — netted two field goals and also had two punt singles. She added a team-high 7.5 tackles as well.
Despite the score, the Wolfpack, led by first-year bench boss Aaron Taylor — who has close to 20 years of experience as a coach — showed promise.
Veteran Anne Smith, a former basketball star, was notable on both sides of the ball, recording an impressive grab as a slotback while also playing admirably at halfback. Fellow halfback Rocky Hackman was arguably the Wolfpack’s best player on the day, flying around the football on defence while also showing off her speed as a returner.
Additionally, offensive/defensive lineman Amanda Fraser and linebacker Jill Fast both tallied goal line stands, while fellow linebacker Julianna Raposo led all players with eight tackles.
Both teams will have May long weekend off and are back at it on May 26 at home. The 0-2 Wolfpack will host the 0-2 Regina Riot at 11 a.m. at East Side, while the 2-0 Fearless will face the five-time WWCFL champion Saskatoon Valkyries at 12 p.m. at St. Vital Mustangs Field in a battle for first place in the Prairie Conference.
“We respect Saskatoon. We respect who they are and what they’ve done,” Bachynski said.
“We followed their game a little bit last night on Twitter. They’re a good team. They’re fast, well-coached and have a large group of ladies, about 70-80 that they pull together. They’re gonna be a handful, but we have two weeks to work hard and prepare for them. We’re excited.”