The John Paul II Crusaders were able to snap a three-game losing skid Friday.
They did so in some of the wildest weather that any high school football will ever face.
The Crusaders dealt with blizzard-like conditions in Meadow Lake as they wrapped their regular season slate with a 26-0 win over the Carpenter Spartans.
“To be honest I don’t think I’ve seen a game played in that much snow before,” Crusaders head coach Bruce Yockey said. “We were able to hold on to the ball and capitalize on their turnovers.
“We had a good advantage when it came to field position as well. It seemed like we had the ball in their end of the field for most of the game.”
Throughout most of the season, the Crusaders have used a strong rushing attack to generate offence.
That changed Friday due to the weather, with quarterback Paul Cubbon leading the way through the air.
“We tried to keep the ball going on the ground with our running game, but it was pretty hard to get any traction going for our offensive line,” Yockey said.
“We just tried to take advantage of the conditions, especially when we were going downwind.”
The Crusaders defence were dominant right from the start, as they took advantage of the conditions to create turnovers and give their offence great field position.
“We set the tone right away,” Yockey said.
“Devin McAllister had an outstanding game for us. We moved him to outside linebacker and he had a couple of big hits that really got the rest of the team going.”
The impressive win for the Crusaders came only three days after they suffered a 54-12 loss to defending provincial 3A nine-man champion Warman Wolverines.
“We still have three key guys that are out of our lineup and we are asking guys to play positions that they have never played before,” Yockey said. “They’ve done a really good job of adapting to those challenges.”
The Crusaders, who finished the regular season with a 3-3 record, are now preparing for a playoff game Saturday when they will take on the Martensville Royals at 1 p.m. in Martensville.
The winner of that game will then advance into the provincial quarter-final.
“I feel like we match up well against them but it’s going to be a tough game,” Yockey said.
“Hopefully we will be playing on grass and not on a snowy field, but we’re excited about it.”
The two sides previously played in North Battleford on Sept. 22, when the Royals came away with a 36-8 win.
“Martensville is a strong defensive game and they aren’t going to beat themselves,” Yockey said.
“The biggest thing that happened in our previous meeting with them is that we turned the ball over at crucial times. If we hang on to the ball and don’t take any bad penalties, I like our chances.”
