Not to be outdone by their elder counterparts in the school soccer championships, the Grade 7 athletes provided some exciting action to close out the outdoor soccer season this past weekend.

Eleven teams, made up of Grade 7's from Whitehorse-area schools, took part in the annual championship, one week after the high school teams faced off for the outdoor title. And the younger athletes certainly proved the Yukon rep teams will have a large influx of talent in the next few years.

In Saturday afternoon's final, the Whitehorse Elementary Wolves hit the field against the Golden Horn Glaciers, in one of the most exciting battles of the season.

The Glaciers had a 4-2 lead at one point, but thanks to a determined, never-say-die effort by the Wolves, it was all tied up 4-4 after regulation.

Tournament rules called for two, five-minute overtime periods not sudden death. The Wolves put one in the net during the first overtime and held on through the second to claim gold, completing an impressive comeback.

'Big comeback, hey?' said a grinning Alain Desrochers, who was coaching the Wolves in place of Joe Campana. 'That was awesome.'

Desrochers said his crew showed throughout the tournament that they could work as a team, adding it only took one slight move in the final for it all to come together.

'We were down 4-2 and I put Logan (no last name given) up and we scored and we scored again, then I put him back on defence. That was the only different move I made. The trick was to be the first on the ball and that was the key.'

Desrochers also credited an experienced team for the win, as a lot of them played rep soccer this past year as well.

For Wolves goaltender Drew Spicer, who made some nice saves in OT, the final marked a matchup against his old teammates, having just transferred to Whitehorse Elementary from Golden Horn this year.

'It was interesting,' he said. 'I played with them for a long time and they've always been really good. I was a little bit nervous in overtime, but I've played goal a lot, so it was fine.

'At first, we weren't doing too well, but then the coach told us to start pressuring more, so we did and we won.'

Glaciers' coach Keith Clark said his team did very well on the weekend and achieved their goal of making it to the final.

But, he said, anything can happen in sport and he credited the Wolves for not giving up.

'Kids are pretty volatile that way. If they get the bee in their bonnet, they think they're going to win, they can. So hats off to (Whitehorse Elementary).'

Regardless of the outcome, Clark said the Glaciers still had a lot of fun in the tournament, dying streaks of red in their hair for the final. The red was chosen because there was no green or orange, the schools colours, said the coach. And red was closer to orange than purple.

'There are a number of kids on the team that play soccer regularly, but there are also a number that do not,' he said. 'That's the joy of this tournament.

'Usually the teams that get to the final are the teams that find a way to play with everybody.'

Having said that, Clark did admit that the large number of players on Golden Horn who play soccer on a regular basis played a key role in making it to the final.

'They live, breathe and sleep soccer,' he stated. 'We didn't really have any organized practices before the tournament, but a lot of the kids found time on their own to practice. It's them who decide to play the game. Really, the kids do it all.'

And after playing six games in two days, they could be forgiven if the fatigue started to hit them. But no matter how tired they were Saturday afternoon, the two schools still found time to show their sportsmanship, posing for a group photo following the awards presentation.

'I always thought about doing that,' said Desrochers, who initiated the group shot. 'With a final like that, when it's that close, how can you not? That was an awesome final. I've never seen a final like that in elementary soccer.

'I'm really, really proud of them all.'

While the bronze medal match on Saturday wasn't decided by overtime, it still had its fair share of excitement. The Elijah Smith Eagles took home bronze after defeating the Jack Hulland Raves 5-3.

In the Consolation A finals, it was the Takhini Timberwolves blanking the Selkirk Coyotes 4-0 to claim the gold, while the Christ the King Wolverines edged the Jack Hulland Hawks 3-2 for the bronze.

The Hidden Valley Huskies came out on top in the Consolation B finals, shutting out Ecole Emilie Tremblay 3-0.

Bronze went to Holy Family.