After blowing out the opposition on the road in Week One of their 2012 season, the Yorkton Pee Wee Gridders got a taste of their own medicine at the hands of the Regina Riders at Century Field Sunday. After having a strong defensive showing in the opening week, the Raiders simply could not stop the Riders running back who had a huge day on the way to a thirty plus point victory.
After a 45-0 victory the weekend before that saw the Gridder defense dominate throughout the game, even scoring a defensive touchdown, the success the Riders had in the running game came as a shock as the Regina running back had his way for most of the game, specifically on the outside where they took advantage of their speed with sweep plays and pitch outs for big gains.
Despite the less than desired scoreline the Gridders did show spark on offense and rattled off big gains in the air and threatened to score on numerous occasions, but just could not piece together complete scoring drives. With a 45-0 win in the previous week it is clear that the Gridders have a winning team, but the Riders were just a step above in competition that they have to work to catch up to.
Head coach Noel Budz mentioned that the blowout win in the opening week might have led to raised expectations saying, "Sometimes when you go out and have a blowout win, you might think you don't have to work as hard, and we definitely have a few things to work on." As for the defense Budz mentioned that it was great in the opening week and that it was much improved in the second half of the game, but that a key part of the defense moving forward will be the offense holding onto the ball and making drives to help out the defense. The offense did a good job of that in the opening week as they started out the game with a quarter long drive on offense that wore down the opposing defense and kept the Gridders defensive corps time on the field down to a minimum. Budz also mentioned that the running game helped set up the passing plays that the Gridders gained yardage on and that will be a focus of their offense all season.
The Gridders head back on the road Friday night as they return to Regina for a came Budz says the boys will be ready for and looking to win in a game that will serve as a gauge for the Gridders season after two conflicting results to open the 2012 season. Expect the Gridders to put on a better showing on the road and return to their winning ways.
