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Pee wee Outlaws beat unbeatable team

Victoria Outlaws defeat Victoria Hitmen for Island football championship
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Victoria Outlaws ball carrier Kalen Jules puts his hand where he shouldn’t during the Outlaws 15-14 defeat of the Victoria Hitmen.

The Victoria Outlaws are going to Kamloops this weekend for the pee wee football provincials.

On Oct. 30 the Outlaws defeated the Victoria Hitmen 15-14 in a wild game for the Island pee wee (ages 9 to 11) championship.

It dethrones the Hitmen from their reign as provincial champions for two years running. The Outlaws play the winner from the interior league on Saturday (Nov. 12).

What made the Island final an unforgettable game for Outlaws coach Zac Kremler, was the prior circumstance of events.

The Hitmen entered the final with just one loss in eight games this season, that loss coming from the Outlaws (5-3), 14-0 on Oct. 22.

“It was the first time anybody beat the Hitmen’s their first loss in two and a half seasons,” Kremler said.

“Tensions were high and the fans raucous at kick off.”

Hitmen quarterback Nick Pollock ran the ball in for a touchdown on the first possession. And because in pee wee the point after a touchdown is worth two if it’s kicked, Philip Grohovac made 8-0. The Hitmen struck again in the second quarter on a brilliant passing play from quarterback Seth Rogers to Nick Pollock.

This time Gideone Kremler was able to block the conversion, the score 14-0 at half.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Outlaws’ offence clicked when quarterback Kremler threw to Kalen Jules, who was downed at the 10 yard line.

Kremler ran the ball in on the following play, and the Outlaws executed a fake-conversion with a pass to Jules to make it 14-7.

One possession later, Kremler hit Jules with another pass, this one for 35 yards. Dante Carbone ran in for a touchdown on the next play.

Down 14-13 with three minutes left, the Outlaws needed to kick a two-point conversion for the lead, and they did it in ‘miraculous’ fashion.

“(The Hitmen) knew we were going to kick it so they put a lot of pressure on us, then the pass was low and it was placed awkwardly on the tee. When Kremler kicked it, it was too low, but it  bounced up in the air off a Hitmen player’s helmet and cleared the cross bar.”

“The final two and a half minutes featured a flurry of plays with an interception by Kremler, a forced fumble by the Hitmen defence, an unfortunate injury to Jacob Hykaway from the Hitmen (who was taken to the hospital on the second to last play of the game but is thankfully okay) and culminated in a Hail Mary attempt by the Hitmen from the 50 yard line for the win and a trip to the provincials,” Kremler said.

Kremler’s conversion kick on the second TD “was low but bounced miraculously off a helmet and through the posts,” dad Zac said.

The Hitmen nearly tied it when Rogers threw a 30-yard completion to Pollock at the end of the game but Pollock was tackled.