The Vanier Vikings football team is in the win column.
And given the situation surrounding their first game of the season on Friday night at Elk’s Field, that’s a special thing indeed.
The Vikings picked up their first-ever victory in the Conference 2 Nine-Man Football League, rolling to a 40-13 win over the Gull Lake Lions in an exhibition game.
It was as heartening a win as there could be for head coach Ryan Gottselig and his charges, especially after making the move from 12-man football and into the unknowns of a different style of game with opponents they’d never seen before.
“Obviously there was a lot of uncertainty going in, but we executed well and got a good result,” Gottselig said, adding that team balance was a major factor in their success.
“It was contributions from everybody, we had four or five different guys scoring touchdowns and we really spread the ball around well. I thought coach Roney did a really good job spreading the ball to everybody and everyone who had it in their hands made some plays with it…. It was a good as we’ve ever executed on offence at this time of year, that’s for sure.”
The Vikings had been through their share of struggles playing the 12-man game in recent years, as a deficit in personnel left inexperienced players in tough positions. With nine-man more suited to their smaller roster, Vanier was able to actually have some depth in their line-up, and that combined with a gameplan that was followed to a tee led to the commanding win.
“We were confident the kids would be able to pick up what we’d been teaching them these last couple of weeks and they really showed up and executed,” Gottselig said. “They put all the uncertainty aside and just went out and played.”
A stellar running game working off a solid offensive line was the major key, as was having almost everyone who touched the ball being effective with it.
“With our running game, we’re going to have three or four guys and give the ball to each of them, and I think the fact all of them showed up last night and made use of their carries was huge,” Gottselig said. “Then our o-line blocked really well and I think our running game could be pretty solid throughout the year for us.”
The contest also sent a bit of a message to the rest of Conference 2 -- Vanier might be an expansion team with less knowledge of the nine-man game, but they’re going to be a tough out just the same.
“It’s nice to be in the mix, but next week is a huge test when we play (defending Conference champion) Lumsden,” Gottselig said. “It’s looking like they’re one of the favourites from what we can tell so far, so we’ll see how we stack up.”
Most important of all, though, is the knowledge that things could be competitive throughout the season for the Vikings now that they don’t have to deal with a bunch of 5A 12-man powerhouses.
“It’s just awesome to be able to compete, the kids are so excited and it’s just a great atmosphere we have around the team right now,” Gottselig said.
