The Athabasca University Annihilators and the Landing trail Intermediate School (LTIS) Wolverines hit the field for a flag football grudge match June 2, capping off the brief season with a heart-stopping tie.
This was the second time the two teams have faced each other on the field. In October 2015, LTIS mulched the university team 21-0. This year, the two teams were in a dead heat, exchanging touchdowns until it ended 21-21.
Although the Wolverines did not get the win, coach Terry Smith was thrilled how everything turned out, especially after the first scheduled AU game was cancelled due to poor air quality from the wildfires in the north.
“This year has been kind of up and down with everything that has been happening,” Smith said. “When it was cancelled because of the smoke I thought, ‘Well, c’est la vie,’ but Mike MacLean was able to get everyone on and they pulled together a group.
“The kids loved it, and it was a great community thing, so kudos to the university people,” he added.
Even though LTIS didn’t win, lady luck was still on Smith’s side. During the day, the Athabasca area was under a severe thunderstorm watch. With the dark clouds circling the field and thunder in the distance, the rain held off until just after they finished the game.
“It held right to the end, then we all had to run like hell,” he joked. “All of us cleaning the field and picking stuff up got a little bit drenched, but from a game point of view it held right to the end.”
This won’t be the last time the two teams will be playing each other, with another game already being scheduled for the fall season.
Smith added there might be some ‘tweaks’ in the game play to make it even more enjoyable for everyone.
“The game ended in a tie, so they want to come back in the fall and play another grudge match,” he said. “So we’ll get one scheduled and we’ll give ‘er again.”
