Mafia Lose Inaugural Game To Oilers
Story and photos by Robert Thomas
It was a disappointing start for the newly minted U14 Moose Jaw Mafia as they fell 28 - 0 to the Estevan Oilers in Kinsmen Moose Jaw Minor Football league action on Saturday.
The loss was a disappointment to the Mafia who were under a lot of pressure to open their first ever season with a win.
Glitches in the Mafia’s game coupled with strong passing by the Oilers when they most needed it decided the game.
Estevan Oilers Mason Fonstad goes in for the tackle - MJ Independent photo by Robert Thomas
The First Quarter was a scoreless affair with the Mafia tied with the Oilers 0 - 0.
The Second Quarter saw the Oilers hit the scoreboard.
A major play for the Oilers was a long pass to Waylon Mantei who seemed to run forever before scoring a touchdown.
The score at Halftime was Oilers 12 and Mafia 0.
The Third Quarter saw the Oilers once again score a touchdown. The score at the end of the quarter was Oilers 20 and Mafia 0.
The Oilers would add a final touchdown in the Fourth Quarter. The final score was Oilers 28 and Mafia 0.
The Mafia turn it up field - MJ Independent photo by Robert Thomas
For Moose Jaw Mafia’s rookie head coach Doug Glasser the final result was disappointing in what was a stressful start with lots of pressure for an inaugural victory.
“There was a lot of pressure with the new group but we’re putting together a new program, a new set of coaches from all over. We just put in two weeks of effort to try and do the best we could today,” Glasser said.
Asked about the team’s play in their first game he said the team put in a good effort.
“The defence is pretty good. For 20 minutes they held them scoreless and just a couple of big breakdown plays and they (Estevan) get outside and they headed up the field,” he said.
Despite the strong defensive effort the team will still be working on it at practice.
The Mafia swarm in on the tackle - MJ Independent photo by Robert Thomas
“(We will be working on) a lot of that repetitive will be work at. We’ll do more reps on offence to make sure we’re executing. And each person doing their jobs to come together as a team.”
Asked if he was expecting a good game from Estevan Glasser said for the Mafia it was an unknown.
“We had no idea what to expect. We have a smaller sized skills on the offence and a big O line and our defence was bigger. I was hoping for a bit of a mismatch but Estevan was pretty evenly spread out on offence and defence,” he said.
Asked what he was looking from the Mafia this season Glasser summed it up in one word “progress.”
“Work hard. The end result of each game is one thing to look at but to be able to get better each time you go out is the real key thing. Get the kids into it,” he said.
Moose Jaw Mafia’s J.C. Johnson (left) moves in for a tackle after Estevan Oilers TJ Thompson broke the first tackle - MJ Independent photo by Robert Thomas
For Estevan Oilers’ head coach Christian Pfeifer the win was nice but the strong performance of the team was the most important.
“I was very happy with the performance of these kids. We had a really good couple of weeks of practice and it’s been a treat watching these kids go out there,” Pfeiffer said. “Now we get to go out and reap the rewards of some great focus and really nice skill on this team.“
“It’s really good to see a good win from these guys they deserve it.”
Returning players have bolstered the Oilers who had a disappointing season last year.
“We do have a lot of returning players and we’re lucky a lot of them have really good base knowledge of what’s going on,” Pfeifer said.
“The kids who are brand new to the team this year are easy to coach. They listen to what you tell them and they go out there and as you saw today they executed.”
Moose Jaw Mafia’s J.C. Johnson returning to the bench - MJ Independent photo by Robert Thomas
Last season’s trouble of a short bench is now a thing of the past with the Oilers sporting a 29 player roster in 2024.
“This year has been really nice. Even today we’re missing six players today. So the numbers we had last year it was difficult to work with but we made do,” he said.
“We have got to make do with what we got.”
At a game last season in Moose Jaw the number of injuries combined with a short bench came close to the Oilers not having 12 players to put on the field in the latter stages of the fourth quarter.
Estevan Oilers players Mason Fonstad (left) and Kieran Kyle on the sidelines as the game winds down - MJ Independent photo by Robert Thomas
Pfeifer said he was happy with the players.
“If we needed somebody to play offence and defence they stepped up. Can you play offence? Yes coach. Can you play defence? Yes coach. It’s a very selfless team I’m proud of these kids.”
Asked what he was looking for in the 2024 season
“I’m honestly hoping for a couple of more wins. A couple of more wins would be nice but you know what honestly I like to see effort. I like to see no quit. I like to see the kids having fun that’s the biggest thing,” Pfeifer said.
