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Raiders onto round number two

The YRHS playoff run in the Moose Jaw High School Football League (MJHSFL) started over the weekend at Century Field and it's going to continue there too. There were six teams to start off play in the MJHSFL playoffs and now there are three.
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YRHS quarterback Dalton Fichtner breaks tackles on his way to the end zone in the opening quarter of SHSAA 12-man playoff football as the YRHS hosted Estevan at Century Field.


The YRHS playoff run in the Moose Jaw High School Football League (MJHSFL) started over the weekend at Century Field and it's going to continue there too.

There were six teams to start off play in the MJHSFL playoffs and now there are three.

Estevan, Yorkton, Central Collegiate Institute, Vanier, Swift Current and Weyburn all took part in the opening round of playoffs last weekend.

Central and Yorkton have advanced.

After a 68-6 win over the Estevan Elecs, the YRHS senior football team took their spot in round two of the post season, which will take place on Oct. 20 at Century Field.

It will also feature the same two teams who put on quite the show not that long ago, in Yorkton.

"This is payback time for us," says YRHS head coach Roby Sharpe.

"Do we feel like we have a good chance?" he questioned.

"Absolutely."

"Basically, it's payback time for us," he says referring to the second annual night time start the Regional hosted on Sept. 28 which saw the Central Collegiate Institute (CCI) hold on for dear life to win the game after consecutive pass interference penalties nearly cost them the game, instead they went on to a 24-20 win in the tightest game either team had been a part of.

CCI stormed the field afterwards. CCI head coach Colin Belsher told the paper that that was the most intense game he's been a part of.

Belsher said that all signs likely point to the winner being decided in the final moments again.

"I'm fairly certain it will be a tight game," he said over the telephone Sunday during an outdoor education trip.

He predicted it could also come down to the last minute, or perhaps a 3rd down play.

"The team with the ball at the end"

We lose and our season in over."

Both the YRHS and CCI qualified for the MJHSFL semi finals with wins in their respective matches over the weekend. The YRHS unloaded on Estevan while CCI edged Vanier by six.

"Our boys played well in that," says Belsher of CCI's win over Vanier. "We need to fine tune some things. Our goal is to get to Yorkton. Right now we're healthy."

The YRHS was without running back Zach Kais for the quarter finals against Estevan and will likely be without him when CCI visits on Saturday.

Coach Sharpe said that it is tough to play without him, but things went just fine against Estevan, especially with a 5'2" kid in the lineup named Megatron (aka Ryan Krochak).

"We don't know yet," says Sharpe of Kais' status for the weekend. "He's one of the best backs in the league (but) he's one of heckuva good little receiver," he said of Krochak.

Krochak was involved in several offensive plays last week, including some throwing on two-point conversions when the Raiders concluded their regular season status, also against the Elecs; Krochak was throwing the ball, and receiving passes.

In the playoffs, Sharpe said it was a matter of getting ahead and staying ahead.

They scored 68 points in the win.

"We got up early and we didn't want to slow up too much."

He said the play of the team is going to depend heavily on Tyson Haas, Layne Hull, Dalton Fichtner and Michael Balysky.

Hull was among those who wasn't thrilled with the playoff game against Estevan, despite the win, wasn't impressed with the quality of the game.

"Frustrated? Yeah, kind of," he said post game. "But it was a great win. We expected to come out (on top)."

When Saturday comes, he expects "just to be healthy and come out strong".

Sharpe said he was a little taken back by the number of points the YRHS scored but was more concerned about one of the biggest rematches the team has played in years.