Fans of senior high school football will have to wait until after Labour Day to get their first glimpse of the Sacred Heart Saints and the Yorkton Regional High School Raiders for 2013, but Yorkton's future Raiders and Saints were more than eager to fill the football void as they kicked off their Regina Minor Football seasons at Century Field on Sunday. Yorkton's Atom and Pee Wee Gridders took to the field on Sunday afternoon while the Jr. Raider Gridders opened up the Bantam Division season in the final game of an action packed triple header at the home of Yorkton football in Century Field.
Yorkton's youngest RMF outfit in the Atom Gridders were the first team to put Yorkton in the 2013 win column, opening up their season with a 33-12 win over the Regina Gators. Coach Jason Boyda was happy of the way his Atom Gridders performed in a game that may of been a new experience for many of his beginner players. "I am proud of my young Gridders and is a pleasure to coach all of them," says Boyda.
The Peewee Gridders were equally as successful in following up the Atom's big win, opening up their season with an impressive 19-0 shutout at Century Field to give the Gridders program's youngest teams wins to kick off 2013 in front of their home fans.
Two wins from the Atom and Peewee Gridders doesn't come as a surprise as the Gridders program has been steadily growing and improving its talent since its inception a handful of years ago as the hard work of Yorkton Minor Football's coaches and volunteers has created a thriving football atmosphere within the community comparable to the options in the major urban centres of Saskatoon and Regina.
Due to their hard efforts in fundraising with Football Night in Saskatchewan and other ventures, the YMF program is continually adding infrastructure, something President Roby Sharpe is excited for as another three team YMF season kicks off.
"Having the YMF program in Yorkton is special to me because I never had an opportunity like this growing up in Yorkton and as the years continue on the players that started in Peewee have began climbing up to the Jr. Raiders and the Jr. Saints and soon we likely will be seeing high numbers of YMF alumni playing and thriving at Yorkton high schools and at the CFL/CJFL and CIS level," says Sharpe.
The Gridders will continue their RMF seasons next weekend with the varsity season set to kick off in early December.
