When the John Paul II Crusaders take to their home field Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. for a meeting with the Kindersley Kobras, it will mark a new adventure for many players as they enter the high school football ranks.
“We have a lot of guys coming from the Battlefords Minor Football program so they have the experience of playing and have sound fundamentals,” Crusaders head coach Bruce Yockey said. “That’s really done a lot to help benefit both schools here.
“For those new faces that we have, the physical nature of playing with guys in Grade 8 and 9 is a lot different from what they will face from guys in Grades 10 through 12, so that will be the biggest adjustment that they will have to make.”
The Crusaders opened up their training camp last week but they expect to have their full lineup in action once the long weekend comes to an end.
“Typically you have guys that are busy with work schedules in the summer and we see them later on, but for the most part our turnout has been good,” Yockey said.
“The guys are working and we have a lot of good younger players. There’s a bit of a gap between the Grade 11 and Grade 9 players we have in terms of numbers, but we have a lot of skilled guys.”
While the strength of this year’s Crusaders squad appears to be on both the offensive and defensive lines, in addition to a good group of linebackers, the biggest hole they will have to fill is at running back as Jacob Stynsky has graduated to play with the Presentation College Saints in Aberdeen, S.D.
“We have a trio of good young running backs, but they are in Grade 9 so we have to be careful with the amount of playing time that we give them so we don’t throw them to the wolves too early,” Yockey said.
“The defensive back situation is sort of similar, as we have some holes to fill but a number of good young Grade 9 players we will have to put in there.”
Last season, the Crusaders finished with a 3-3 record in the Conference 4 regular season but were knocked out in the first round of the provincial playoffs by the Martensville Royals.
A major change in the nine-man ranks will see the departure of the two-time defending provincial champion Warman Wolverines, as they will move up to the 12-man Saskatoon league that the North Battleford Comprehensive High School Vikings compete in.
“That’s one less game on the schedule for everyone but I think it might level out the playing field a little bit,” Yockey said. “Warman is getting bigger and bigger, so I think it makes a bit of sense for them to move up a level.
“As a whole, I think our conference is really tight this year and it should be a pretty exciting year.”
