The Parkland Mavericks are 2-0 to start the season.
Ronin Mouck and Owen Tyschinski had two tries each to lead the Mavericks to a 56-29 win over the Winnipeg Assassins Second Division team, Saturday in Winnipeg.
Will Miner, Dylan Craik, Alex Boshoff and player-coach Codi Harrigan also had tries for Dauphin and Mouck had all eight converts.
Harrigan credited the Assassins for never giving up when the Mavericks pulled away.
“They never quit and they kept at us right to the final whistle,” he said.
Both teams suffered through the heat, with the temperature reaching 32C.
“We were tested physically and mentally (Saturday),” Harrigan said, adding it was nice to see the scoring spread out.
“We only had three substitutes available, so a lot of players had to put in big minutes. I’m really proud of our players for managing the heat, staying disciplined with hydration and working hard for the whole 80 minutes,” he said.
When fatigue set in, Harrigan said, the Mavericks continued to communicate and stuck to the game plan instead of trying to do everything individually.
“We had contributions from everyone on the roster and that showed on the scoresheet,” he said.
The Mavericks will host the Assassins First Division unit, Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Because they were a bit shorthanded on Saturday, some players played in unfamiliar positions.
“But again, everybody contributed great. It’s those players that aren’t on the scoresheet that really shine throughout the whole game, as well. There were a lot of players doing the dirty work and they put the team first and that’s a big reason we were successful. So we hope that continues on into the weekend,” Harrigan said.