The Nanaimo Redmen weren’t at their best, but when the game was there for the taking, they went and took it.
The city’s Vancouver Mainland Football League team defeated the Victoria Spartans 13-6 on Sunday afternoon at May Richards Bennett Pioneer Park.
The red team trailed 6-3 in the fourth quarter, but tied it on Todd Hansen’s second field goal of the game. A huge interception by Adrian Keller stalled the Spartans’ next drive and then, with just over a minute and a half remaining, Jaxxen Wylie picked his way through all 12 Spartans on the field to score a punt-return touchdown.
“At least our specials are looking good…” said Sean Roden, the team’s coach, after the game. “We got away with one. If you can play that poorly and miss that many assignments and beat a good team, then you got away with one.”
Redmen defensive lineman Cam Rossetto said even though his team got the win, it feels it can do better.
“We made mistakes that we shouldn’t have made and it’s just those tiny little things that we’re going to try and work on this week.”
GAME ON … The next home game for Nanaimo (4-1) is a matchup against the Coquitlam Falcons (4-1) Sunday (Oct. 9) at 1 p.m. at Pioneer Park.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com