As the SSSAD 3A football playoffs begin Thursday in Saskatoon, the North Battleford Comprehensive High School Vikings enter the post-season as the team to beat.
Following a 42-10 win over the Marion Graham Falcons at Beaver Lions Stadium last Thursday night, the Vikings finished the regular season with a 5-2 record and are the top ranked team heading into the semifinals.
“There’s still a long way to go here, but a regular season championship is still a nice accomplishment for our guys to have,” Vikings head coach Mike Humenny said.
“It’s something we haven’t done here in a long time, so to see that happen on our home field is really cool, especially for our Grade 12 guys.”
After giving up an early field goal to the Falcons, the Vikings offence kicked into high gear as they looked to get some revenge over a team that ended their season in last fall’s semifinal.
Quarterback Damon Dutton hooked up with Presley Peterson on three passing touchdowns, while Zach Wolfe and JT Lamb also reached the endzone to give the Vikings a commanding 35-3 lead at halftime.
“Our mindset coming in was to rush the football, but I have to give a lot of credit to Marion Graham,” Humenny said. “They played us tough in the first quarter, especially for a team that’s short quite a few guys.
“Like he did a week ago, Damon came to the sidelines and saw a few things to allowed us to make those plays to Presley thanks to some adjustments. He’s been battling some injuries as of late, but Presley’s one of the best wideouts in the league and he showed why once again. He makes difficult catches look routine.”
Although they didn’t have a shutout like they did a week earlier at home against the Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders, the Vikings defence turned in another strong showing.
“We did something a little bit different this week as we had a number of offensive guys also play on defence,” Humenny said. “That included JT, Presley, Wolfe and Apete Tuiloma among others.
“I was really happy with how they preformed. They’ve played a lot on defence in practice, but we wanted to make sure that they were used to playing at game speed as we get ready for the playoffs.”
Awaiting the Vikings in Thursday’s semifinal game, which will take place at 5:15 p.m. at the Saskatoon Minor Football Field, are the Evan Hardy Souls.
The two teams played each other back on Sept. 8 in Saskatoon to start the season, with the Vikings coming out on top by a score of 56-20.
The other semifinal game will take place Thursday night between the Tommy Douglas Tigers and the defending 3A provincial champion Bishop J Mahoney Saints.
The Saskatoon 3A final will be held at the Saskatoon Minor Football Field on Friday, Nov. 3, with the league champion then playing host to the provincial title game on Saturday, Nov. 11.
Their opponent will be the winner of the provincial semifinal between the champions of the Regina 3A league and the title holders from the Moose Jaw league.
