The Prairie Football Conference came to Yorkton last Saturday.
The PFC, known for producing future CFLers such as Roughriders Stu Foord and Chris Getzlaf, sent two of their teams to Century Field for an exhibition game.
A light rain and blowing winds couldn't scare off a considerable crowd that had gathered to watch the Regina Thunder take on the Winnipeg Rifles.
Although the result should be tempered by the fact that both teams were sporting bloated rosters and evaluating potential roster cuts, the 70-9 Regina victory was still a very convincing one by anyone's standards.
Thunder Head Coach Erwin Klempner says an exhibition game like this one is very necessary when it comes to choosing his roster.
"It's invaluable. It's a great opportunity for the young guys and particularly the kids who are just trying to make the football team," he says.
Quoted at the halftime break, Klempner planned to use the second half to evaluate mostly his second and third-stringers.
"We've been playing all our guys, we have a plan. We'll be playing everyone. We brought 78 guys and they're all playing. The majority of the play will be done by the second and third group's. Our first group is pretty much done," he pointed out.
With the annual exhibition game between these two squads rotating every year between Yorkton and Brandon, it had been nearly two years since Klempner's squad had paid a visit.
Fortunately, he was glad to be back. The Thunder Head Coach even offered his assessment of the playing facilities.
"It's a great place to come. They've done a great job since having the Saskatchewan Games. It's a great facility, the fans are close to the field. The field is in great shape considering you've had the flood but we know that it's always a good field. Yorkton just does a great job of looking after your facilities. They're really good," he maintains.
The football game was made even better by Harvest Meats, whose representatives were on hand to provide hot dogs and refreshments to the many spectators. With fans and coaches alike satisfied by the game's outcome, the afternoon affair was a considerable success.
Klempner was complimentary of Roby Sharpe, whose tireless efforts to put the event together paid off in spades.
"This is just a celebration of his hard work."
