The Varsity Interlake Thunder officially began the road back to the Rural Manitoba Football League Championship on Sunday.
The Thunder played the Falcons Football Club in a rematch of their pre-season game on Aug. 24, which the Falcons won 26-15.
Head coach Christof Hasselfield and staff used the tune-up game to identify areas on the field where the team needed to work, and Sunday’s game showed that many of the improvements had been made.
The Thunder won 34-12, reaching the endzone five times and disrupting the Falcons’ offence for most of the game.
The club now sits 1-0 and will have the next week off from league play.
“We definitely came in better having that experience,” said Hasselfield. “We started out a bit slow. The tackle wasn’t quite there, but we got better throughout the game. The fourth quarter was the best quarter and there was a lot of positives on defence. I was impressed by the improvement of our offensive line since the exhibition. There is still lots to work on but we shored up a lot of problems. The pass protection was quite good.”
As planned, junior quarterback Jessie Batenchuk started at quarterback and had a massive game throwing the ball for the Thunder.
Getting his first win, Batenchuk threw for three touchdowns, all to Luke Robertson, who quickly emerged as Batenchuk’s go-to target.
“He did a really good job at implementing the game plan,” said Hasselfield. “We had gone through a lot of different plays and how they match up against the coverage we had seen from them in the exhibition game. He did a very good job at trusting his reads and taking what the defence is giving him so I was very proud of him for his first start of the regular season.”
The Thunder also found success on the ground, as running backs AJ Nadon and Jamie Dandeneau punched in their first rushing touchdowns of the season while wearing down the Falcons’ defence throughout the game.
On defence, the Thunder combined for a stellar five interceptions and one fumble recovery, keeping the Falcons’ offence limited and looking sloppy throughout.
Off the field, the Thunder also won over the weekend, as Hasselfield was named the Bud Grant Coach of the Week by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Bud Grant is an award that recognizes Manitoba youth football coaches for their outstanding commitment to their teams, leagues, and communities.
Hasselfield was nominated by a parent and selected by the Blue Bombers as last week’s award winner.
He was presented with it at the Blue Bombers vs Saskatchewan Roughriders game at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday where he was given $500 for the football program.
“It meant a lot honestly,” said Hasselfield. “What meant the most to me is that I was nominated by somebody who’s kid I coached. It means the world anytime a parent lets you know they appreciate you because the most important thing to them is their kids and if they are supporting you then they like how you’re teaching their kids. Not so much the award, just the validation that people are trusting with their kids and appreciating the work I’m doing makes me feel fulfilled.”
With a bye week, the Thunder are looking ahead to their next game, a rematch of last year’s championship game against the St. Vital Mustangs on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 4:30 p.m. from St. Vital Mustangs Field.
Last season, the Thunder’s only regular- and post-season losses came to the Mustangs, so Hasselfield and the team’s veterans are entering the game with an added bit of motivation.
“We’ve had the Mustangs circled on our calendar since last season,” said Hasselfield. “They are a super talented team, have a lot of last year’s core. We’re going to be trying a bit of a different look against them.”
With the RMFL’s recent re-alignment, the Thunder and Mustangs will see each other at least twice this season as they, along with the Falcons, are now in the league’s three-team Urban Division.
With the regular season now only four games long, the Thunder plan to use their added bye weeks as intersquad game days.
The Thunder will hire referees for these games, and the team will split into two teams of its players to play against each other.
Hasselfield said this will give the players a more game-like experience and provide the coaches with more game film as they work on adjustments to their team.
This Saturday, the Thunder will play their first intersquad game of the season. The game will go at 1 p.m. from Stonewall Collegiate Field.
Tribune Photo by Lana Meier
