Tigers win home opener

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Published on Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Photo by Eoin Devereux. Neepawa’s Jayvee Posadas (19) rushes in for a touchdown, helping the Tigers to open the Rural Manitoba Football League regular season with a win.

By Eoin Devereux

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press 

A strong ground game helped to power the Neepawa Area Collegiate Institute (NACI) Tigers to a season opening 52-36 victory over the East Parkland Warriors in Rural Manitoba Football League action. Veterans Taine Middleton and Will Rainka lead the way, accumulating 285 and 141 rushing yards respectively. Middleton added to his already impressive numbers with three touchdowns. Aside from those familiar names in the backfield, newcomer Jayvee Posadas aided with the effort with six carries for 75 yards, including a 25 yard touchdown. 

Tigers head coach Dave Clark said he was pleased with how well they were able to assert themselves on the ground.

“As the game progressed, we were able to put together some very good runs. The Warriors gave us everything we could handle, but we were able to wear them down over the course of the game,” noted Clark. “What was nice to see out there, was that we have several good runners, but also different styles of runners as well. Some are power backs, other rely on speed. It’s a good thing to have these types of options in the backfield.”

Tigers quarterback Dylan Oshanyk ended the game 4-for-11 passing for 45 yard. He added three carries for a yard, including a touchdown. Tanner Mann lead the receiving corps with a pair of catches  for 25 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, Dillan Neufeld had six tackles, while Rylan Hollier added three tackles and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Neepawa’s Kelsey Perrett.  Elbert Resolis added an interception to complete the day for the defensive side of the line. The game took a scary turn near the end of the fourth quarter, as an East Parkland player went down awkwardly during a tackle and ended up receiving what appeared to be a stinger. The player was taken to the hospital as a precaution. There was no official update on his condition, though he did appear to have movement in his limbs while being loaded into the ambulance.

The next game for Neepawa will be on Friday, Sept. 16 in Virden. The following Friday, the Tigers return home to face the Parkwest Outlaws