Rifles aiming for championship run

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This article was published 30/08/2019 (2243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It may be early in the Canadian Junior Football League season, but the Winnipeg Rifles are locked and loaded for a long run.

“We’re a blue-collar team willing to do anything we can to get that W,” said Domenic Horvath, a starting defensive back in his third campaign with the Rifles. “We want to prove that Winnipeg isn’t to be taken lightly.”

While the Rifles dropped their season opener against perennial contenders the Saskatoon Hilltops 34-20 on Aug. 18, they answered back with a commanding 47-8 win over the Calgary Colts on Aug. 25. 

“Our first two games we had tough starts, so the key will be to start with our foot on the gas right away, get that momentum going early,” said Luke McMillan, a receiver in his second year with the Rifles. “Once we have it, we’re one of the best teams in the country. So starts are key.”

The Rifles’ 1-1 record put Winnipeg in a tie with the Regina Thunder at two points a piece, smack dab in the middle of the six-team Prairie Football Conference.

“I believe we are the most talented guys in the conference, and probably all across Canada,” added Tim Solypa, a third-year receiver who played football for Murdoch MacKay Collegiate. “We have the best group of guys, but we need to come out strong out of the gate.”

Solypa played the last two seasons with the Kamloops Broncos in the British Columbia Football Conference before returning home after last season. He said the good things he’d heard about the Rifles program and head coach Geordie Wilson have all proven true.

“Coach Geordie runs a really good program,” Solypa, who received 13 passes for 207 yards in his first two starts of the season, said. “He actually cares about his players, which is great. It starts and ends with him.”

Horvath, a Miles Macdonell Collegiate alumnus who recorded a pair of tackles against Calgary, agreed.

“Coach has a good game plan, and we just have to go out execute,” Horvath said, adding that he feels the Rifles have a lot of trust in the dressing room and on the field this season. “We’re looking to get the job and win that championship.”

McMillan, who has notched a pair of punt returns, a kick return and ran 30 yards for a touchdown on a pass reception in two starts, believes that the Rifles’ depth should serve them well this season.

“Having everybody involved is going to keep us rested so we can make big plays late in the game,” said the former Miles Mac Buckeye.

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Penalties have been costly early on for the Rifles, who recorded 15 in the opening two games of the season.

“We have to play smart football,” Solypa said. “Coach always says that on offence, we can’t take post whistle or pre-snap penalties, because that’s what kills us. He knows what he’s talking about.”

In advance of an Aug. 31 game against the Regina Thunder, the Rifles are looking to make a statement. 

“We lost to them twice last year,” McMillan said. “But I believe we have the better team and it’s ours for the taking.”

“It’s going to come down to the wire, whoever wants it more,” Horvath said. “We’re a physical team, and we want it.”

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112

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