No point in beating around the bush when it comes to the California Mambas and the Battle on the Prairies football tournament this past weekend at the YaraCentre.
The first question their team was asked by almost anyone they encountered during the last four days was the obvious one -- how are you holding up in this brutally cold weather?
Mambas coach Damien Mahoney laughed when asked the same question on Sunday afternoon prior to the Varsity Black final, and the answer was what one would expect.
“We’re used to it being 60, 70 degrees (F, 15 to 21 C) in California right now and coming here and it’s minus-40, that’s a hundred-degree difference,” he said with a rueful grin. “So the first day, we went to Walmart and all the kids were getting gloves and that stuff that they didn’t have. So it’s been a different experience, because we don’t get anything like this in California, that’s for sure.”
As cold as it was outside, the Mambas were just as hot on the field throughout the week in Moose Jaw.
The team -- formally known as the Inland Empire Mambas and based in Moreno Valley just outside of Los Angeles -- went unbeaten through the event, taking a 28-25 win over the 14U Sask Selects, 18-6 win over the Alberta Golden Bears and 14-6 win over the Sask Selects Black before finishing off their run with a 28-14 win over the Golden Bears in the final on Sunday.
As good a run as they could have asked for, especially with the close games.
“The calibre of play has been amazing, and they’ve improved so much over the last three years, for sure,” Mahoney said. “We played them down in Texas a couple years ago and it wasn’t really close, but this season, they’ve come to play. We’ve had some really tight games against all the Canadian teams we’ve played and we’re looking forward to the final and another good game.”
It was those connections made in Texas that brought the Mambas to Moose Jaw this week, as tournament organizer and Selects program founder Zeljko Stefanovic threw an open invite their way over a year ago.
“We had no idea where Moose Jaw was, but he said you come up there, we’ll take care of you and your players, and we couldn’t pass that up,” Mahoney said. “It’s been amazing.”
The Cali kids took time to enjoy some of the offerings from Canada’s Most Notorious City, too, something that only added to their already fantastic experience.
“It’s a beautiful town and we’ve had a lot of fun,” Mahoney said, adding that his crew had visited the Tunnels of Moose Jaw and spent an evening enjoying the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa. “This whole trip has been nothing but a positive.”
While the Mambas were only able to bring 16 players this time around -- something that made their undefeated run all the more impressive -- Mahoney will be looking to expand their roster and more when they return for 2024.
“We’ll be back next year and we’ll bring a couple more age groups,” he said. “Now that we’ve seen it and know what it’s all about, with how great it is and guys back home seeing it streamed and all that, we’ll be back for the Battle on the Prairies, for sure.”
Other tournament title games saw the Airdrie Eclipse take a 26-20 win over the Sask Selects in the 12U final, while the Selects prevailed in the 14U final with a 28-0 win over the Golden Bears and the Selects defeated the Golden Bears 21-0 in the Varsity Red championship.
You can check out all the scores from the weekend at www.selectsfootball.com.
