The North Battleford Comprehensive High School Vikings find themselves a win away from capturing their first Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate 3A championship in school history.
Following a 49-14 victory over the Evan Hardy Souls Thursday night at the Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the Vikings have clinched a spot in next week’s city final, which will be held in Saskatoon at 5:15 p.m. against the Tommy Douglas Tigers.
“I told the guys after the game that this was just the first step in our journey and we have to focus now on coming in here next week and playing well once again,” Vikings head coach Mike Humenny said.
“Obviously we are excited about having the chance to play for a championship and we know it’s going to be a really good game that will be a lot of fun for everyone involved.”
The last time the Vikings made it to the Saskatoon league final was in 2012, when they fell to the Bishop James Mahoney Saints.
Thursday’s semifinal win over the Souls was highlighted by a dominating performance from running back JT Lamb, as he powered his way through Evan Hardy’s defence for four touchdowns.
Lamb was also one of several Vikings who also suited up on defence, as he made a number of big hits during the course of the game.
“It’s tiring to play on both sides of the field, but it’s worth it,” Lamb said afterwards.
“The offensive line made some beautiful blocks and I think having the new offensive set with three running backs really helped me out a lot in being able to see where everyone was going.”
Quarterback Damon Dutton also had another strong outing with three touchdown passes, as he connected twice with Presley Peterson and once with Zach Wolfe.
“Our skill guys really set the tone early on as we put it up top a few times and they were able to make plays,” Humenny said.
“It was really offence by committee today and I was happy with that.”
Although the Vikings jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the opening quarter, the Souls clawed their way back to within a touchdown with their passing game, as quarterback Talawa Mudasia moved the ball down the field before connecting twice with wideout Blade Wiggins in the end zone.
The Souls had a chance to tie the game before halftime after Wolfe fumbled on a kickoff return at midfield, but a big hit by Lamb resulted in a turnover and ended any momentum that Evan Hardy had.
“I think we were a little tentative at times on defence until Wolfe made an interception on one of their drives,” Humenny said.
“It wasn’t so much scheme wise that we were getting beat on, but it was just the mentality that we had. I think our guys needed to be a little bit more eager early on and be more of a ball hawk out there.”
Awaiting the Vikings in next week’s final, which will take place at the Saskatoon Minor Football Field, is a Tigers squad that beat them by a score of 35-26 back in September.
“That was probably our worst game of the season so there’s a lot of stuff that we can rectify from that one,” Humenny said.
“Tommy Douglas is a well coached team. They have a third-year quarterback [Hayden Sabadash] who’s very good and they have a couple of strong running backs.”
The Tigers punched their ticket into the final by defeating the defending 3A provincial champion Saints in a high scoring 51-45 affair Thursday night.
The winner of the Saskatoon league will go on to host the provincial championship game on Saturday, Nov. 11 against the winner of next Saturday’s provincial semifinal in Regina between the Moose Jaw and Regina league title holders.
There will be no team from The Friendly City competing in the Moose Jaw league final as the Yorkton Raiders will host the Swift Current Colts Saturday afternoon.
The Regina city final will be held Monday night at Mosaic Stadium between the FW Johnson Wildcats and the Greenall Griffins of Balgonie.
