The Bantam Salmon Arm Chargers made a splash in their first game as members of the Vancouver Mainland Football League last Saturday.
The Chargers wowed the crowd with a 39-6 victory over the Mission/Meadow Ridge Wildcats.
Because there were no Bantam teams in the Interior this year, the Bantam Chargers were forced to look for another league. They were accepted into the VMFL and will play teams from Cloverdale, Richmond, Vancouver, Nanaimo and the Valley.
Against the Wildcats, Salmon Arm’s defence held fast, only allowing one major and forcing numerous turnovers and plays for negative yardage.
Leading the way on defence was Gage Oddy, Jacob Zyri and Austin Crocker.
On offence, the Chargers made numerous mistakes, but were solid on the ground.
Scoring touchdowns for the Chargers were Jayden Mourato, Luke Simmonds and Bladen Stephens, while Tyler Chartier scored three of his own.
Next up for the Chargers is a game against the Cloverdale Leopards on Sunday, Sept. 13 in the Lower Mainland.
Jr. Bantam
The Salmon Arm Junior Bantam Chargers lost a tough one last Sunday, falling 16-0 to the Vernon Magnums.
The Chargers struggled with offensive penalties for the entire first half of the game, putting themselves in long yardage situations against a very tough Magnums defence.
Defensively, the Chargers were led by their hard-hitting linebacking group, consisting of defensive player of the game Levi Byers, Chase Henning, Luke Matheson and Braidy Parkes.
Other notable performances on defence were seen from Dylan Eugster, Spencer Paquette and Dayton Bittner.
While the Chargers were shut out on offence, they were able to put together multiple long drives prior to stalling out due to penalties.
Solid contributions were had by offensive player of the game Eugster, Henning and Coby Jagt.
Salmon Arm’s Junior Bantam Chargers play next in West Kelowna versus the Tigercats.
Peewee
The Peewee Chargers took the field this weekend for their season opener against the Vernon Magnums.
Both teams battled hard with the Vernon Magnums, ending up with a 19 to 16 victory over the Chargers.
Coach Troy Henning was extremely pleased with his players, noting there are only two returning players on the squad. He said despite the team being very inexperienced, the game provided a solid base from which to build.
“The guys really rallied together as a team and played their hearts out to the last whistle,” said Henning.
Scoring for the Chargers was provided by Cohen Boyd on a 20-yard reception from quarterback Dominic Kemitzis, and a 35-yard romp to the end zone also by Boyd. Two successful converts by Brayton Lawson and Kemitzis closed out the scoring.
Strong defensive performances from the two veterans on the team, Lawson and Kemitzis, helped anchor the Chargers on the other side of the ball.
The Chargers visit the Kelowna Lions this Sunday for their next challenge.