Roughriders defeat Vikings in first-place battle

BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI

Alexander Park in Pierrefonds was the place to be Saturday for North Shore Football League inter-park peewee fans as a statement game with huge consequences was in the offering.

With only three games left to play in the regular season, two undefeated teams, the host Alexander Park Roughriders and visiting Ile Bizard Vikings hooked up in a morning affair that promised to go a long way towards determining who would most likely end up in first place heading into the playoffs. When the final whistle had been blown, it was the Roughriders who emerged feeling good about that possibility, earning a well-deserved 17-8 victory. The win gave Steve Mons’ boys a perfect 7-0 record. With remaining contests against teams most knowledgeable observes feel they have a very good chance of winning, it seems likely the Roughriders should finish the season in first place. Meanwhile, Andre Laberge’s Vikings fell to 6-1, good enough for second place. However, the road ahead for them is not as rosy. They must play a very tough and pesky Lakeshore Panthers team twice in the next three weeks.

“Now, finally, there’s one team in first place and it’s the Roughriders,” said Mons. “I’m happy with the 17 points, but it was our defence that was stellar. But you know, our kids had an incredible week of practice, so much so there was very little we as coaches had to say them before the game. It was the kids who prepared themselves for this game.”

The Roughriders set the tone for the contest early, taking advantage of a Vikings turnover to score on their first possession of the game with a Davide Santilli touchdown run. Shawn Steen’s conversion made it 8-0. That score held up through the first half until a Steen TD and conversion made it

16-0 in the third quarter. An important single point off the ensuing kick off made it

17-0 Roughriders. Wide receiver Laurent Lalonde-Sauvé, who enjoyed a tremendous game, hooked up with quarterback Mitchell Muir on a 35-yard pass and run play late in the fourth quarter for the Vikings only TD. By that point however, it was too little and too late for the visitors.

“Obviously this shows there’s a lot of room for improvement,” said Laberge, who led the mosquito Vikings to a provincial championship two years ago. “But we knew what Alexander was bringing to the table. Maybe losing is a healthy thing, though. As a result, we’re going to be better prepared for our remaining games.” ꆱ