The Nanaimo Redmen didn’t end off the regular season the way they wanted to, but things could have been worse.
The city’s Vancouver Mainland Football League team was defeated 34-27 on the road Saturday against the Chilliwack Giants.
Despite the setback, Nanaimo (7-3) was able to hang on to the fourth playoff seed meaning it gets a bye this coming weekend and a home game in the second round of the playoffs.
Alex Kutra and Jaxxen Wylie had two touchdowns each in Saturday’s loss and Jonah Wassell threw three TD passes.
Both teams had chances to win with the Giants scoring the game-winning touchdown with about two minutes left. Coach Sean Roden said the offence moved the ball effectively but suggested the defence wasn't up to its usual standard. One turning point in the game, he said, came when Chilliwack missed a field goal but recovered a fumbled ball in the endzone on the play for a TD.