Fans had their first look at this year’s Interlake Thunder Varsity football team on Saturday.
The Thunder were in action against the Falcons Football Club for a pre-season tune-up at Stonewall Collegiate Field.
Nearly every Thunder player saw the field in the 26-15 loss as head coach Christof Hasselfield and his staff played around with the lineup to get an idea of what their opening night lineup could look like.
“We weren’t too worried about the final score,” said Hasselfield. “A classic exhibition game. There were some things we look to build on and more than a handful of things we now have on tape and will look to polish before the result really means something.”
Hasselfield called it a successful exhibition game in the sense that he got to see some of their rookies, along with veterans, get in their first touches and get up to game speed before likely seeing a majority of the action in the opener.
In training camp and the exhibition game, Hasselfield has been impressed by the play of many of his juniors and sophomores who are expected to take on bigger roles this season.
He highlighted three Thunder running backs, AJ Nadon, Christian Mozdzen, and Fyn Moore as players who looked good in the pre-season game.
Nadon, in particular, is a player that stood out to all in attendance at the game, as he went on a massive run in which he broke free from six Falcons defenders for one of the Thunder’s top plays of the game.
The junior out of St. Andrews is someone that Hasselfield and the offence will likely count on again all season.
“AJ specifically, the whole league knows he’s special, we know that, so we’re really looking forward to his season,” said Hasselfield.
Hasselfield also highlighted the performances of Tyler Yourchenko and Kole Beresford on defence.
Yourchenko, a junior linebacker from St. Andrews, made multiple tackles on Saturday and broke up a pass in a timely manner.
As for Beresford, Hasselfield said he’s been a standout since the start of training camp as one of their new defensive backs.
From Stonewall, Beresford is in his first season with the Thunder, though he is a sophomore due to being born in 2009. On Saturday, he picked up an interception, adding to his impressive first few weeks with the Thunder.
“I’ve been impressed with his attitude,” said Hasselfield. “He shows up every day ready to compete. He had a pretty good game.”
The last position Hasselfield discussed was at quarterback, where the Thunder are seeing a new slinger step into the spotlight this season.
Fans will recognize six-foot-four junior Jesse Batenchuk as the club’s top offensive weapon at wide receiver last season, scoring 12 touchdowns.
This season, the Gimli native is transitioning to quarterback, a position at which he played only a couple of snaps in 2023 as the Thunder’s backup option.
In the off-season, Batenchuk trained under Hasselfield to make the transition. Due to his strong athletic abilities and leadership on and off the field, Hasselfield believes Batenchuk could become an even better option than what they had at quarterback last season.
“He’s a special, special athlete,” said Hasselfield. “He played like a guy starting his first game at quarterback and that wasn’t a reflection of what he’s going to be this year. The offence sputtered a bit, and I’d rather we get that out in an exhibition game. He’s got all the talent in the world, a very live arm, and I haven’t even gotten to his legs. He’s a very dynamic athlete. What I’m most impressed with is he had a very good final drive. I liked his mental toughness and his leadership, which is something we’ve talked about a lot. I’m very excited for him this year and the sky is the limit to be honest.”
The Thunder now have five practices remaining before opening night against the Transcona Nationals at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 8 in Stonewall.
Hasselfield and staff will use that time to make minor tweaks to their offence and defence and set their lineup for the opener.
Peewee Thunder see offensive progression in third straight loss
The Peewee Interlake Thunder saw progression this week but still came up short in the win column.
After only scoring six points in their opening two games, the Thunder were able to get 12 on the board in their 42-12 loss to the Eastman Raiders in Steinbach on Saturday.
It’s still not the result they were looking for, but it’s a much better showing from the club as it looks to be more competitive in the Manitoba Minor Football Association.
The Thunder, now 0-3 on the season, currently sit fifth in the MMFA’s Richard Dudek Conference.
Next week, the Thunder will have a bye and play in Stonewall the following weekend.
That game will go on Sunday, Sept. 8, against the St. Vital Mustangs Black (0-1) at 9:30 a.m. at Stonewall Collegiate Field.
This is the first time the Thunder and Mustangs will meet this season. They are the only two teams currently without a win in the Richard Dudek Conference.
Express Photos by Lana Meier
