Dam Inn no longer undefeated after Vikings coast to a 33-28 victory
By The Nelson Daily Sports
A sluggish start cost the Dam Inn its first defeat of the season as defending champion Castlegar Vikings edged Mates 33-28 in West Kootenay Men’s Flag Football League action Sunday at Mount Sentinel Field.
The loss drops the Mates to 4-1, two points in front of Nelson’s Our Glass Ogs.
Castlegar, starting the season off on the wrong foot, won for the second time this season.
Dam The Inn Mates started off very sluggishly in the first half allowing the Vikes to pick apart their injury-depleted secondary.
Using a two-quarterback rotation Castlegar routinely hooked up with their wideouts on large yardage gains as the Mates were missing several key players on defence.
Castlegar quarterback John Lloyd led the Vikes charge throwing multiple touchdowns, giving the victors a 20 -6 lead at the half.
Lloyd hooked up with Brody Sakaluk, Steve Mota, Jay Trower, Jaime Simpson and Carl Perepolkin.
In the second half the Mates seemed to have new life.
They started running new defensive schemes; elaborate blitz packages and a zone defence that threw off the quarterbacking tandem of the Vikes.
Soon enough they were forcing three and outs and had a crucial pick to get the themselves to within one possession of taking the lead.
Joel Devito had a pick and two TD’s for the mates, while Jeff Hodge and Kyle Niminiken also intercepted the Vikings quarterbacks.
Kelly Voykin tossed three TD passes, two to Devito and adding another to John Parker.
It was however, too little too late for the Dam Inn Mates when just as the time was about to run out and the Mates getting in position to tie the game up, the Vikes got a game ending interception.
The league resumes Sunday at Mount Sentinel with Nelson Our Glass playing the Dam Inn Mates in a battle top two clubs at 11 a.m. while Castlegar Vikes face the Trail Thundercats at 1 p.m.
— with files from Adam Pearl
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