They've come a long way - and they're not slowing down either.
The Yorkton Pee Wee Gridders claimed their third straight victory last Saturday, edging out the Regina Vikings 12-8 at Century Field.
Ryan Krochak started the game at quarterback for the Gridders and marched the team down the field after a scoreless first quarter.
However, Yorkton failed to capitalize at the Vikings 10-yard line as a goal-line fumble kept the game scoreless.
As the first half buzzer was getting close to sounding, the Vikings used the limited time to strike first.
A long bomb put the Vikings on the Gridders 13-yard line with 9.6 seconds left in the half. The Vikings quarterback, #7, then threw a nice ball to an open Regina receiver as time expired to put the visitors up 8-0 (following a successful two-point conversion).
With momentum squarely on the Regina sideline, the Gridders knew that they needed a big effort in the second half.
Fortunately, Darius Haberstock provided yet another big play in what has become a weekly tradition.
Haberstock returned the opening kickoff of the second half all the way to the house for a quick score to reduce the deficit to 8-6.
The Gridders kick returners were a strength for the team all day. Brett Harasymuk, in particular, was a sparkplug for Yorkton, returning several kicks to the Regina side of the field.
Regarding his standout performance, Harasymuk was modest upon reflection.
"I didn't get far without my blocking. Everybody blocked, everybody helped," he explains. ?
Although the Gridders had restored the balance of play, the deficit still remained at two points as the seconds ticked away.
With just under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, things were beginning to look bleak for Yorkton.
Facing a third and long at midfield, running back Brendon Weber quickly reversed his team's fortunes with an outstanding 55-yard run to put the Gridders on top 12-8.
The touchdown turned out to be the all that they would need.
The Gridders defence turned up the heat and forced consecutive three-and-out's down the stretch and preserved the narrow margin.
Harasymuk perfectly summed up his feelings after the narrow Gridder victory.
"Incredible," he reflects.
Noting the unpredictable nature of football, Coach and offensive coordinator Jason Payne says that the winning touchdown was a the product of imperfect execution.
"Sometimes it works even when you don't draw it up that way. Had we run that the exactly the way it was supposed to, it probably wouldn't have worked," he points out.
The Gridders will put their undefeated record on the line Sunday versus the Regina Wolverines.
