Pee Wee Mustangs venture to Cardston

Coach Tom Holoboff, Contributor

Well sports fans it was another busy Saturday for the Peewee mustangs as the road took the local hero's to Cardston. The Cardston Jamborie was a fun event at a great facility. With 4 games in 5 hours the Mustangs definitely got their football fix for the day.

The first rival to step up against the Mustangs was the Cardston Cougars. I think these 2 teams were fairly evenly matched, with the cougars scoring by taking advantage of a couple of misque's by the Mustang safeties.
The Cougars were the first team that tried to run the ball up the middle against the Mustangs and soon learned that 'Gus The Meat' Halibert and Tysen Teneycke were more then happy to make the acquaintance of any running back brave enough to venture in the middle. Should the run go to the outside 'Hands', Grace Kirkness and 'Gunner' Trent Metcalfe at outside linebacker aided by 'Giant' Mathew Bruder and  'Cat Man' Caleb Jones at corner turned the runner around. Offense lead by Richie 'The Hammer' Legrandeur had some success running up the middle with 'Cutter' Lance Paleo and Ty 'Real Deal' Anderson. Outside runs with 'Spiderman' Isaac Webb and Mathew 'The giant' Bruder were also successful. It seemed that the story of the day for the offense was 2 steps forward then one step back (like walking into a Pincher wind) as after each successful play the ball would be fumbled and the offense would be back to the start again. The Cougars would go on to take the game 3 touch downs to 0, but the Mustangs left the field feeling good about their effort.

The second game saw the Mustangs face some good friends the Raymond Comets. Each team was able to see some success moving the ball on offense. Again 'Cutter' Lance Paleo and Ty 'The Real Deal' Anderson were able to run up the middle behind the line of 'Nailer' Nelz Vance, Justin 'The Equalizer' Nelson, Caleb 'Catman' Jones, 'Gunner' Trent Metcalfe, Tysen 'The Man' Teneycke, Gus 'The Meat' Halibert, Quinn 'The Silencer' Parker Whitlow 'Tenaciou's Tegan Teneycke and 'Hands' Grace Kirkness. Defense saw Richie 'The Hammer' Myles-Lagrandeur making a saving tackle to the left, Richie 'The Hammer' making a saving tackle to the right. Most of the tackles sounded just like a hammer hitting a nail, causing one of the Mustang coaches saying "thank goodness for Richie". Now don't be fooled, without the efforts of the other 11 players, no way could Richie make those tackles. The well-played game saw the final score of 0 - 0.

The last 2 games saw the Mustangs play both sides of the Lethbridge Rams split squad. The first game, the Mustangs offense started to see the effects of what happens when 1 player does not do their job. Many Mustang plays were not effective because 1 player did not block the Ram player or did not run the right pass pattern allowing the Rams to easily stop the play. Now being the third game in a row it is understandable that the mustangs would start feeling like they were run a little ragged. The Defense did step up for the most part with the Rams running a consistent run to the right, 'Giant' Mathew Bruder, 'Gunner' Trent Metcalfe and Quinn 'The Silencer' Parker Whitlow being very busy making tackle after tackle. With bodies starting to fall 'Tenacious' Tegan Teneycke and Justin 'The Equalizer' Nelson happily filled in anywhere required. The safeties of 'Spiderman' Isaac Webb, Curtis 'Ironman' Giesbercht, 'Bullet' Brody Walter and Evan 'Hitman' Malhi denying any attempt to pass by the Rams. The Rams took the first game 2 long run touchdowns to 0.

The second game against the Rams and the last game of the day was likely the most fun. The Rams offense started having fun with the cadence in a positive and humorous manner often bringing a laugh from the coaches and mustang players. Coach Tom played a game with Isaac Webb of guess the play. It was fun to listen to the young man (who acts as a mentor to many of his team mates) catch onto what the Rams were doing and tipping what play they would run. 'Cutter' Lance Paleo and Richie 'The Hammer' Lagranduer made many tackles on outside runs. On offense, the only real success was with 'Cutter' Lance Paleo gaining tough yards up the middle. Ty 'The Real Deal' Anderson and 'Nailer' Nelz Vance made spectacular runs to the outside; however, the net was often negative yards - but they did look great. Truth is, I think the gas tank was empty for the Mustangs and the heart put forth as much effort as it could.  The body just could not perform at the same level. The Rams showing true sportsmanship moved a couple of their better players back off the line to allow 'Bullet' Brody a chance to run a few plays without the constant pressure they were applying on the 'Hammer'. 'Bullet' always does a nice job when he takes the reins of the offense. The Rams took the final match 3 touchdowns to none, but it was a good fun-filled match.

At the end of the day the Mustang coaches of Mark Barber, Robert Plante and Coach Tom were very pleased with the effort made by the Mustang players. Just a reminder to Mustang parents - please stop providing buttered popcorn on Friday night before the games ha ha ha. With players ranging in age from 8 - 12 years of age; playing mostly against teams made up solely of 11 - 12 year olds.  The Mustang players show courage which is not common among young men. I am very proud of the Mustang players and if winning was important at this level I know we could easily win many of the games today. However to be successful tomorrow everyone plays today. Next week you will see the local hero's playing the game of the year, traveling to McMahon Stadium as the thankful guests of the Claresholm Raiders. Until next week this is coach Tom reminding everyone that everyday is a great day for football.