The Dauphin Clippers clinched first place in the Rural Manitoba Football League, Saturday, with a 34-0 win over the visiting Virden Golden Bears.

With the win, Dauphin improves to 6-1 on the season and the shutout means they have the best defence in the league, allowing a league low 65 points.

Clippers head coach Gerald Lopez was pleased for all the players, stating they worked hard right from the start of training camp.

“I couldn’t be more happier for them, They deserve this,” he said.

Dauphin scored on their first possession of the game and never looked back. Lopez said jumping out to an early lead was huge.

“It establishes who we are as a team. We’re coming in with a mission and we had some thoughts in our mind and one was scoring on our first possession, which we did,” he said.

Lopez credits defensive coach Robbie Tomkins for his work in making the Dauphin defence the stingiest in the league.

“Coach Tomkins has these guys really humming as a unit. And defence wins championships. It’s as simple as that,” he said.

The Clippers are expected to play the Moosomin Generals in the semifinals, the only team to beat the Clippers in the regular season.

Dauphin will have their eye on getting a measure of revenge when the two teams hook up in Dauphin.

“Oh yes. We definitely had their team circled if we were to play them. I think our team has really matured since that first loss. So it will be a fun, tough match, because both teams are scrappy teams,” he said.

The key to beating Moosomin, Lopez said, will be discipline.

“Discipline, running to the plays and being able to execute without taking penalties,” he said.

The date for the semifinal match has yet to be determined.