The 2013 football season came to a close for the Hanley Sabers senior boys team after a provincial semifinal 74-64 loss Nov. 2 to the North Valley High Eagles at Lemberg.
Sabers head coach Mark Anderson said the game came down to a “couple plays here and there” that could have turned the final result the other way, but he is proud of the effort his team displayed against a team that had some “good athletes” playing their best in a wide open game.
“We didn’t score in the fourth (quarter),” said Anderson, noting the first provincial game played at Lemberg for the five-year-old Eagles club provided a great playoff venue. “It comes down to tightening up a bit. They took off at the beginning (of the game) and got a lot of points and then we took it to them through the second quarter. The third quarter was soft in many ways and then the fourth quarter they scored and we didn’t.
“That was the difference in the game. A dropped ball here, a tackle there would have made the difference.”
The semifinal was a high scoring back and forth game that saw the Eagles soar out to a 32-22 lead after the first quarter. The Sabers roared back to make the score 52-44 in their favour at the half. Play tightened up in the second half as Hanley led by a close 64-60 score after three, but was not able to sustain the lead eventually falling 74-64 to the Lemberg team.
Leading the Sabers once again was safety Mike Lohrey who played a strong defensive game while also scoring two touchdowns when seeing some plays on offence and offensive end Kody Rowlet who had a big game with four touchdowns. Sabers linebacker Damon Prystupa and centre Kirk Simonsen, who added another two touchdowns for Hanley, also had really strong games.
Anderson said the team played great this season considering they lost seven “all-stars” to graduation last June, but rebuilding is always a part of high school football. He said the coaching staff is “very pleased” with the team for their effort this fall.
“It’s always interesting to see who will step up and play and we really came together as a team,” he said. “To go 8-1 is a fantastic season anytime to get that result.
“This year we lose seven players again, so it’s tough every year. Next year we have a very small senior group of four boys, but our Grade 10 and 9 (players) are a really strong group. I think we’ll be fine for years to come.”