Clippers tame Tigers

Details

Published on Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Photo courtesy of clippersfootball.blogspot.com

The Neepawa Press/Neepawa Banner

The Neepawa Tigers were handed their first defeat of the Rural Manitoba Football League regular season on Thursday, Sept. 29, losing to the Dauphin Clippers 22-6. With the victory, Dauphin maintained its undefeated record at 4-0, while Neepawa dropped to 3-1.

The game, played in Dauphin, would prove to be a major challenge for Neepawa, as heading into the season, the Clippers were considered a favourite to win the RMFL championship. That confidence in Dauphin’s ability proved to be well founded, as running back Zac Eiffert accumulated 132 rushing yards for the Clippers, including a 52 yard scamper for a touchdown. Meanwhile, Dawson Leforte added a  70 yard punt return for Dauphin to secure the win. Neepawa did however, do something no other team has been able to do all season and that’s hold the normally dominant Dauphin offensive attack in check. Dillan Neufeld helped the cause with six tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery. Greg Farquhar contributed as well, with a tackle, an interception and a sack.

As for Neepawa’s offensive effort, while it was able to move the ball down the field, it couldn’t achieve the same level of success it had accumulated in its previous games. The lone score for NACI was a 12-yard touchdown run by Dylan Oshanyk, who finished the game with seven rushes for 51 yards. Dillon Neufeld lead the stat sheet for the Tigers with 78 yards on 15 carries.

The next game for Neepawa will be on Friday, Oct. 7, when the Tigers travel to Swan Valley. NACI’s next home game will be the following Friday, on Oct. 14, when they host the Southwest Sabres.