East Central School Division high school football action was on display at the Sacred Heart High School field as the Saints hosted the rival Melville Composite High School Cobras in an after school tilt. The yearly regular season contest features two city's only football rivalry as the YRHS plays the 12 man game, making the MCS-SHHS the Parkland's closest thing to a football rivalry.
The game was a low scoring affair that saw the Saints jump out to a 14-0 lead going into the second half with the Cobras needing to regroup at halftime to get back into things. MCS answered back right away as a touchdown drive made things interesting with the Saints lead being whittled down to one touchdown with plenty of time to play. With the Cobras defense making big stops and giving their offense plenty of opportunity it was on the Saints defensive corps to hold onto the lead and secure the win.
The Cobras rushing and passing attack was much crisper than in the first half and a sense of urgency could be felt as the momentum shifted from the Saints into the Cobras hands. The game was almost tied up when a Cobra player was running with no one in sight for a touchdown score. However great hustle and determination from the Saints caused a fumble and recovery on the one yard line to stop the score in the play of the game for the Saints.
After a few more turns of possession for each team a Brock Liebrecht seventy yard punt pinned the Cobras deep in their own side of the field in, giving them the hard task of marching all the way down the field to tie up their game in what would effectively be their last good crack at the endzone with under five minutes to play. Big running plays by the Cobras running back and their quarterback brought the Cobras into the Saints red zone with plenty of time to tie up the game. On second and ten the Cobras quarterback found a wide open receiver on the one yard line for a sure touchdown before having the receiver bobble the ball and taking away yet another sure score. The Cobras tried one more passing play on third down, but it was broken up by the Saints secondary.
At the end of the day the Saints won a hard fought game in a team effort on offense and defense that will likely leave the Cobras with a bitter taste in their mouths after giving up two clear touchdown opportunities on separate drives that would have completely changed the outcome of the game. Brock Liebrecht was instrumental in the Saints victory making plays on offense, and several key tackles in the Saints secondary as well as his seventy yard punt on special teams. Going into their next game the Saints will need to improve on tackling as they put themselves at risk for the loss on two separate occasions when the Cobras offense was making big drives down the field.
A 14-7 victory will have the Saints players and coaches content as they secure bragging rights for Yorkton over their Highway 10 counterparts for the season in what was an entertaining game for the players and fans.
