By: Mike Still (@mikestill94)
After two years off due to COVID-19, the U16 Western Challenge returned this week, with Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Alberta taking to Langley, BC looking for bragging rights.
The No. 4 seed Manitoba opened the tournament against No. 1 seed Saskatchewan yesterday, in a game that was broken wide open by Sask in the second half. Tied at 14 entering the third, the top seed out-scored their opponents 35-9 in the second half, advancing to the gold medal game and a chance to defend their title from 2019 after a 49-23 win.
“A lot of what we’ve talked about is controlling what we can control and focusing on what we bring to the table, and not worrying about outside forces. We got away from that a little bit in the third quarter,” noted ‘Toba head coach Stefan Hirsch, whose side allowed three straight scores to open the third.
“Some things didn’t break our way, and it’s a tough lesson to learn, especially in a short tournament like this. There were times when we ran a great call, and the other team just made a play. For these young men coming into a short tournament like this, they need to have a short memory, both on the good plays and the bad plays.”
Manitoba’s dynamic offence went shot-for-shot with Sask in the first half, as ‘Toba spread the ball out effectively to a number of skilled playmakers.
Running back Onan Furst, a grade nine starter at the JV level for Oak Park last year and one of the top players in his class, scored the game’s first major from a yard out with 1:40 left in the first quarter. A power back who can go north-south in a hurry, he accounted for a significant amount of his side’s 142 first half rushing yards and was complemented by the speed of Amid Kanu from Dakota as well as Owen Britton from Vincent Massey.
“We’re very happy with the backs that we have. Obviously Onan featured early and is a great inside runner, but Amid’s speed really sets us up in space. After Saskatchewan adjusted and started stuffing our inside runs, our ability to shift and maneuver and start getting to the edge really became important,” said Hirsch.
“I was really happy with the offence, especially early on. We have a lot of skill players and they kind of announced themselves and caught Saskatchewan off guard in a lot of ways. I think we’re definitely a tough matchup for a lot of teams, and we were able to get our guys in space and allow our play makers to make plays. That was a huge benefit for us in the first half.”
Manitoba’s other major in the first half came from the hands of QB1 Ryan Wirtzfield, the team’s Offensive Player of the Game. The Oak Park standout, who will be ‘the guy’ for the next three years for the Raiders, found the team’s leading receiver Mikun Odanuga with less than six minutes to play before halftime, and had 114 passing yards through two.
Odanuga made the catch of the day a few drives earlier when he kept his foot in bounds while falling backwards on a throw near midfield. Another Dakota playmaker, he, Furst, Kanu and Wirtzfield made up four of the 17 total players from the two schools, who met for the JV championship last season.
The wheels fell off for Manitoba in the second half. Sask opened the scoring on a 75-yard touchdown strike on a short crosser in the flats that went the distance, and didn’t look back. Despite the result, the defence was stout many times, including a forced fumble by 6’2”, 180-pound linebacker Jake Godfrey of Dakota. He had five tackles in the first half and was the team’s Defensive Player of the Game.
Manitoba now looks ahead to a bronze medal matchup against No. 3 Alberta on July 6 at 4 pm.
“I’m excited to see how our guys respond. In seeing what I’m seeing from all the teams so far, there’s a lot of parity. We’ll work through the film and break things down and really stress the right things to these guys and see how they respond. How you respond to something happening is more important, often than the result,” Hirsch said.
“One thing that we’re really trying to get across is how to manage our energy and our emotions. Let’s not let the highs get too high and the lows to get too low, and to stay even-keel. I think at moments we were really good at that, and then obviously in the third quarter, not so great at it. I think once we great down the film and emphasize the positives, it’ll click and they’ll understand.”