With one game left in the season, the undefeated Ladysmith Steelers peewee football team brought its record up to 8-0 Saturday by beating South-Side Minor Football 30-19 at Forrest Field.
“We’ve had a very strong season,” said coach Jeff Pinckney.
In the Steelers’ final home game, quarterback Ryker Pearson ran for two touchdowns and threw a touchdown pass to Marcus Copp. Philli Toscano also scored a touchdown in the win.
“That was a pretty exciting game considering we started a little flat, and [South-Side] scored right away,” said Pinckney.
The Steelers junior bantam team is in a building year and is 0-7 so far after losing to Cowichan on Saturday.
Football in Ladysmith has grown, and as the fall season ends, Pinckney is hopeful that growth will continue.
“We’ve got great community support,” he said.
There are no playoffs in the peewee fall league, but once the season is over, players can look forward to spring football. Registration for spring football for players aged 11 and 12 will take place at the end of January, and practices will begin in February.
“We’ll take 10, 11 and 12,” noted Pinckney. “We don’t turn anyone away if they want to learn football.”
There are playoffs and championships in the spring league, and Pinckney hopes the Steelers can build on the success they’ve been having this fall.
“The spring league is pretty exciting because we get to keep the core of our team together and add to it,” he said.
Pinckney is excited about the state of football in Ladysmith.
At this time last fall, the Steelers only had 16 players on their peewee team, made up of players aged nine to 11.
Forty players registered this fall, and the Steelers were able to expand and build a junior bantam team for players aged 12 and 13.
“Normally, when a child turns 12, that’s kind of the end of football in Ladysmith,” explained Pinckney. “We were able to expand to junior bantam, and we had 13 registered … and we’re down to 11. We hope to continue to grow that age group. My long-term goal is to see if we can get Ladysmith Secondary School to accept a football team.”
For more information about spring football, contact Pinckney through the Ladysmith Minor Football Association Facebook page or at 250-758-9193.