Warriors girls win championship game to end inaugural season

What a weekend for girls football.

The Wetaskiwin Warrior Midget girls tackle football team wrapped up their season this weekend playing in the Capital District Amature Football Association Tier 2 championship game, battling against the extreme heat and the Leduc Cats.

The game started off with a bang, as Emily McMillan ran the ball for a touchdown on the first play of the game, and before anyone knew it the Wetaskiwin Warriors were out to a substantial lead.

At half time the game was still not out of reach with the score at 21-13, with the heat and the physical nature of the game making anything possible. At half time both teams worked to get their players cooled off.

Due to the nature of the league, and when the games during the season were played, neither of these teams had played or practiced in 25 degree heat in the sun; which, at field level was more like 30 or 35 degrees. Coming out after half time the Wetaskiwin Warriors looked like they were able to get cooled off and find that next gear that all coaches talk about, finishing off the game strong with a 45-19 win.  This score was actually flattering to the Leduc Cats who fought a good fight, except for some exceptional running by their #10, the Wetaskiwin Warriors had the Leduc Cats stopped for a loss of yards on almost every other play.

Battle River Shock face Reddogs

After the game these ladies switched gears and went to support their fellow classmates and friends with the Battle River Shock Boys Midget football team that was playing the Capital District Amature Football Association Tier 1 Championship game against the Lloydminster Reddogs.

This game turned out to be quite the opposite of the girls game and was a nail biter right to the end.  The Shock came out strong scoring on the first play of the game making the game 7-0.  The Reddogs came back and scored shortly after and then added a punt return for a touchdown, making the game 14-7.  The Reddogs added a single point and led the game 15-7 going into halftime.  No team was able to make any headway until the Lachlan Stevens found Josh Weibe for a catch and run into the endzone with under 3 minutes to play tying the game.  The Shock then pinned the Reddogs deep with a kick and forced them to punt the ball, which the Shock blocked and recovered.  With 29 seconds on the clock the Shock were able to punch the ball into the end zone making the score 22-15 with nine seconds on the clock.  With one last stop, the Shock took the Tier 1 Championship after the Reddogs had won the title for the last four years.

“As coaches we are so proud of these 14 girls that put themselves out there for the inaugural Midget Girls Football league,” said Warriors coach Codey Soanes.  “Each one of them had to overcome an injury of some sort, a thought that they were not good enough, and the stigma that football is only for boys. These 14 girls along with the three other teams in the league proved that football is not just for boys.”

Football is football no matter who is playing, said Soanes, and each and every coach is looking forward to seeing these girls play on the boys teams in the fall and then come back together in the spring to defend their title and maybe even be playing in the Tier 1 championship.

Now each of our coaches will change gears and look towards the Wetaskiwin Warriors Spring camp which runs from May 24-26.

“We are looking forward to building on the growth that this sport has seen in Wetaskiwin over the last couple of years,” said Soanes.

If you have or know of any player, girl or boy please visit our website at www.wetaskiwinfootball.com and use the link there to register your athlete.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to send an email to wdafafootball@gmail.com or check out the contact us tab on our website or message Codey Soanes on facebook messenger.

See Article at https://www.wetaskiwintimes.com/sports/local-sports/warriors-girls-win-championship-game-to-end-inaugural-season