Yorkton's Atom Gridder football team fought to maintain their no-loss record in the final two games of the regular season in two hard-fought games, but slipped to 4-2 as they headed into one of four Bowl Games on Sunday, September 29 at Regina's Liebel Field.
The Gridders met up with The Regina Canadians at Liebel Field on Saturday, September 14 with 10 players missing from the roster. The game started with the first series riddled with 5 offside calls lasting 10 minutes. The Gridders found it difficult to gain tempo, but the defense had a very consistent and strong game. Eventually, the Canadians scored a touchdown and a single-point conversion with only seconds left in the first half.
The second half saw the Gridders get their running game going. Carter Pawliw had a great run followed by Josh Haczkewicz who railed down the sideline for a 50-yard touchdown run, Yorkton however fell short on the convert and lost 7-6 to end their undefeated season.
Saturday, September 21, the Gridders hosted the undefeated Regina Thunderbirds who were ranked 2nd int the 18 team field of Atom Teams in the Regina Minor Football League. The Gridders, who had dropped to 4-1, were in a 4-way tie for 4th place in the league. The first half of the game was a defensive battle. Thunderbirds got on the scoreboard first and tallied a 2-point conversion. Right before half time, the Gridders ran their double-reverse for 100 yards with ball carrier Josh Haczkewicz, but unfortunately the play was called back on a holding call. 8-0 at half for the Thunderbirds.
The Gridders opened up the second half with a great drive all the way down to the Thunderbird 10-yard line, but then the offense stalled and couldn't score. Then the Thunderbirds started to ground and pound the ball 100 yards to score another touchdown. The Birds missed on the conversion. The Gridders offense experienced a two and out leaving the Thunderbirds to score again. 20-0.Yorkton would add a TD to make it 26-6. The Atom Gridders finished regular season play with a 4-2 record and in 7th place out of the 18 teams in the RM, earning them a spot to play for the Kanuka Thuringer Bowl Game at Liebel Field on September 29 against the Regina Badgers.
Gridders had a great start firing off with Josh Haczkewicz on a double reverse run into the endzone, but unfortunately the touchdown was called back on a holding penalty. That didn't slow down the Gridder offense as Josh Herman carried the ball 25 yards for a Gridder touchdown. The Gridders fumbled on their 2-point conversion attempt. 6-0 Gridders.Second half, the Gridders offense did more damage to themselves than the Badgers defense with ball-security issues committing four fumbles in the second half. The Gridder defense was put in a bind as they had to try and stop the Badgers from the Gridder 20-yard line. Three plays later, the Badgers scored again and converted to take a 14-6 final.
Defensive Coach Ryan Effa was so pleased to have been able to work all of the kids that came out this year. "We had 48 players on our roster this year. That's a lot of kids to manage. It is amazing because in our relatively short season, we see all of our players, boys and girls, grow so much. It's a great program to be a part of."
While the season didn't end quite how he would have liked to see, Head Coach Jason Boyda says that it was a pleasure to coach these young Gridders. "The season was so enjoyable because of the support we had from the parents and community. We are very thankful to the YRHS Senior Gridder players who came out to give back to the football program by taking time out of their busy lives to coach future players." Coach Boyda went on to put this successful season into perspective. "It is our goal each year to make it to one of the Bowl Games in the RMF. That's no small feat. We are one community with one team in a league of 18 teams. Recently, RMF was considered to be one of the top minor football programs in the country. Our Atoms are doing all right - obviously, we will reach for better."
