The Humboldt Collegiate Institute (HCI) Mohawks nine-man football team, behind the stingy play of their defence, earned a well-deserved conference 28-11 playoff victory versus the Clavet Cougars October 20 at Glenn Hall Park.The victory has allowed the team to enter the Saskatchewan High School Nine Man Provincial Football Playoffs as the number two representative from Conference One.Scoring began early for the Mohawks on Saturday as Treyton Luker took a handoff and powered his way into the end zone from seven yards out at 5:53. The convert was kicked by Jonathon Zimroz. "Coach Rowe has always told me to keep my pad level low and drive my feet into contact," commented Luker following the contest Saturday. With the Clavet Cougar defence allowing very few yards versus the running game, the Mohawks found the end zone for the second time from 13 yards out on a nifty screen pass from quarterback Tanner Syroteuk to tailback Jonathon Zimroz. "The offensive line deserves a ton of credit for their excellent blocking all game, they really had a great game," commented Grade 11 tailback Zimroz following the game Saturday.The real story of the game was the play of the Mohawks' defence. Play after play, the unit really got after Clavet's offence. The pressure on the quarterback, tight coverage on receivers and physical play just wore down the Cougar offence. "We knew the pass is the biggest asset in their offence, with a double safety and tight coverage off the line, yards were hard to come by," said Grade 12 defensive back Justin Lefebvre. The defence put the football in the best scoring position several times with fumbles and interceptions. "The TSN turning point from our point of view was clearly the long interception return by safety Tanner Syroteuk. This just gave us such momentum and urgency to score and try to put the game out of reach," noted defensive coordinator Cory Popoff.The victory marked the sixth time in the last two years the Mohawks have played the Clavet Cougars in conference play. "We are certainly getting to know each other quite well. The Clavet Cougars are well coached and tackle very well so in order to earn a victory you need to be sharp for sure," stated assistant coach Dave Rowe.Extra PointThe Mohawks will be on the road for the rest of the playoffs. The second-place representative will now travel from each conference to the champion of each of the four nine-man conferences. The Mohawks will play in Indian Head this Saturday at 1 p.m.
