It’s been over two decades since the North Battleford Comprehensive High School Vikings and the Yorkton Raiders have captured a provincial football championship.
One of those droughts will come to an end at Beaver Lions Stadium Saturday at 1:30 p.m. as the two sides will square off for the chance to hoist the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association 3A football title trophy.
“It’s been a long time coming for both teams,” Vikings head coach Mike Humenny said. “Both communities have established strong minor football programs and the paths that both schools have been on is really similar.”
“How great it is that North Battleford and Yorkton are the two teams left in the 3A field instead of schools from the bigger cities,” Raiders head coach Roby Sharpe added. “Mike is someone that I have a lot of respect for. We go to a lot of clinics together and we talk a lot about developing the young kids in the minor football programs as our towns are pretty similar in size.”
Saturday’s championship game marks the first time the Vikings have made it this far since 1995, when they defeated the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders by a score of 22-21 in Regina.
The Raiders, meanwhile, last won a provincial title in 1994 at Beaver Lions Stadium in a 29-21 contest against the Vikings.
They also won the other head-to-head meeting between the two sides by a score of 15-13 in Yorkton back in 1990.
“There is that history there but that was before everyone on the roster was even born for both teams,” Humenny said. “I’m sure that we’ll mention it to them in the lead up to Saturday, but I think it might be a bigger deal for the parents and members of the communities who remember those previous finals.”
“Back when we played each other in 1990, David Dutton was the quarterback for Yorkton and a few years later his brother Colin was the quarterback here when they played North Battleford here again,” Sharpe said. “Now you fast forward all these years later, and David’s son Damon is the quarterback for North Battleford. It’s pretty crazy what happens as time moves forward.”
The Raiders, who went 8-0 in the Moose Jaw league this season and only allowed 27 points on their way to their first city crown, advanced to the provincial final last Saturday in Regina following a 24-22 triumph over the Regina league champion Greenall Griffins of Balgonie.
“That was a hard fought game between both teams,” Sharpe said. “Neither team backed down and it went right down to the wire.
“We lost one of our top players [wide receiver and safety] Matthew Mandziuk to a shoulder injury, so we’ve had to change things a little bit, but the way that we play will be similar to what we’ve done all year. We’re not that big in size but we got a lot of speed and our team has been playing football together for a number of years.”
The Raiders are led by Grade 11 quarterback Jordin Rusnack, who was named the Moose Jaw league’s MVP thanks to his all around play.
“He’s a really good athlete as he’s involved with their kicking and punting, plus he has the ability to run with the football if there’s nothing open down the field,” Humenny said.
“They got some different offensive sets in their back field that we’ve been preparing for this week in practice and they have a defence that flies around the field and makes plays. It should make for a pretty good contest.”
The Vikings, who went 7-2 this season in the Saskatoon league on their way to the provincial final, earned home field advantage by winning the 3A city crown last Friday with a 26-15 win over the Tommy Douglas Tigers at a snowy Saskatoon Minor Football Field.
As of press time, the weather forecast was calling for sunny skies and a high of minus-eight degrees.
“I was on the phone with the City of North Battleford earlier this week and they are going to be clearing off any snow that’s on the field at Beaver Lions Stadium ahead of Saturday, so it should be in great shape come game time,” Humenny said.
“We’ll be practicing a couple of times on the field before the game to make sure that we have the proper footwear and everything else, but I think we’re accustomed to the elements and what to expect after practicing and playing in the snow last week before we played Tommy Douglas.”
