VICTORIA—In conditions that head coach Doug Tate described as a mud pit, the Vikes and league leading James Bay played to a 10-10 tie on November 5.
 
"It was a real defensive battle, very physical. It was hard to hang onto the ball or even plant your feet," said Tate.
 
Morgan Tate scored the lone Vikes try, while Guiseppe duToit recorded one convert and one penalty goal.
 
An even contest that saw possession going back and forth between the two teams all game long, wasn't tied until the very end.
 
James Bay jumped out to the early lead and was up 7-3 at halftime.
 
With the conditions making any sort of offensive threat tough to mount it looked like James Bay may hold on for the win.
 
Third-year Vike Morgan Tate had different plans however, he powered his way past the defence to score his third try of the season.
 
DuToit nailed the convert to give the Vikes a 10-7 lead but late penalty goal from James Bay ensured that the game would end in a tie.
 
"We had a lot of opportunities to win, we just didn't finish them off. It was a good performance from us though, we played very physical and this result gives us something to build on," said Tate.
 
The game was a big improvement for the Vikes from their previous game against James Bay. In the very first game of the season back on September 17, James Bay beat them 36-26.
 
"Our defence was by far our biggest improvement. We did a great job of coming forward and taking guys off their feet," said Tate.
 
The tie keeps the Vikes Barnard Cup hopes alive as they currently sit third behind both still undefeated James Bay and the Castaway Wanderers.
 
The Vikes get the opportunity to close the gap to those second place Wanderers when they play them on November 11 at Centennial Stadium.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
                1        2           F
UVIC       3        7          10
J Bay       7        3          10

SCORERS:
Guiseppe duToit (1P 1C) Morgan Tate (1T)