The John Paul II Crusaders found out first hand just how strong the Unity Warriors are on offence this season.
Going up against a team that outscored the Carpenter Spartans of Meadow Lake by a combined score of 124-6 in a pair of games earlier this month, the Crusaders hung in there against the Warriors before dropping a 27-7 decision in Unity Friday night.
“I see why they put up that many points against Meadow Lake,” Crusaders head coach Bruce Yockey said.
“They had an excellent running game with a couple of really strong running backs and their quarterback has a good arm that he uses well when they need him to throw the football.”
While Yockey was pleased with how the Crusaders preformed on defence, it was the efficiency of the Warriors offence that proved too much to overcome.
“They ran the ball so well and that allowed them to utilize their passing game whenever they need to,” Yockey said.
“Our defence played well as it was 13-0 at halftime. We moved the ball well in the midfield but we were unable to cash in on offence until the end of the game. We struggled with the running game a little bit and it was kind of similar to what happened against Kindersley.”
The Crusaders also had to deal with a change at quarterback during the game as Brady Holhoyi was forced out of the game due to an injury.
“As a result, we had Andrew Pyle playing both quarterback and linebacker, so he was pretty busy for the rest of the night,” Yockey said.
“We had a few nicks and bruises in the lineup so we ended up being a bit short-staffed there. At this point, we’ll see how everyone’s progressing before deciding who will be playing in our next game.”
The Crusaders will be looking to improve on their 1-2 record Thursday afternoon when they’ll host the 0-3 Spartans in a 4:30 p.m. contest at Crusader Field.
“We really don’t know a lot about Meadow Lake other the than losses they’ve had so far where they’ve given up a lot of points,” Yockey said.
“From what we are hearing, they have been struggling a little bit when it comes to getting players, but we can’t take them lightly. This is a game that we need to win in order to get back to a .500 record.”
Following that game, the Crusaders will head back out on the road on Thursday, Oct. 5 to face the Delisle Chiefs.
Their final regular season contest will take place on Thursday, Oct. 12 when they’ll face the Martensville Royals at Crusader Field.
That game will be a rematch of a 28-21 win the Crusaders earned in Martensville on Sept. 15.
