The Dauphin Clippers football team moved into first place in the Rural Manitoba Football League after a 28-14 win over the rival Swan Valley Tigers, Friday in Dauphin.

Cody Zurba completed five of the six passes he threw for 64 yards, while Morgan Fleck struggled, completing just one of his seven attempts for 12 yards.

Ronin Mouck was the favourite receiver as he had four catches for 53 yards and one touchdown.

Julien Lopez led the ground attack with 131 yards on nine carries and one major, while Sully Fox had two touchdowns on the ground. Mouck ran the ball for 49 yards on six touches.

Tristan Fidierchuk converted all four touchdowns.

Mouck led the defence with six tackles, two assists and two sacks, while Blake Thacker contributed three tackles and four assists and Lopez had four tackles, one assist, one fumble recovery and one interception.

Trailing the Tigers, 14-7 at halftime, Clippers head coach Gerald Lopez reminded his young charges that no one player is better than the team.

“We’ll regroup, we’re going to bend, we’re not going to break and we’re going to come out hard. So we made some halftime adjustments and, on the fly, it just happened,” he said.

“Everyone chipped in. I was so impressed by our offensive line. I will give the shout out to Mitchell Rauliuk, Connor Morrisseau and Zach Perih. They did the great blocking. It was a team effort all the way.”

Along with tight ends Jesse Genaille and Fidierchuk, those five players were able to allow the running game to open up in the second half.

“Once Swan started to key on the run, we were able to score on Ronin Mouck’s nice catch from Cody Zurba,” Lopez said.

The Clippers will now get set to face the Neepawa Tigers, Sunday in Neepawa at 2 p.m.

Lopez said the team will still focus on the little things that make a team successful.

“And to keep reminding the players that we’re only as good as the last game. So we hope that we can play well in the first quarter, first half and then we can rest these guys and have our substitutes in,” he said.

“We’re not going to take them lightly. But its in the hopes that we can bring in our other quarterback and systems there.”