The clock struck midnight in what was a storybook season for the YRHS Raider Gridders in their first year of Moose Jaw High School Football League action as a banged up and undermanned Raiders team was upset 49-29 by the Moose Jaw Peacock Tornadoes in the MJHSFL final.
After a win over Peacock in the regular season and possessing the league's best offense and defense in nearly every statistical category, the Raiders looked good on paper to continue their dominance in the final. However injuries to a small, but extremely talented roster proved to be the difference as an injured Raiders squad was shellshocked in the first half by a Peacock team that had nearly double the personnel of the Raiders.
The game started out well for the Raiders as their opening drive ended with a touchdown pass from league MVP Dalton Fichtner to Michael Balysky to make the score 7-0 Raiders in what appeared to be business as usual as the Raiders rode quick starts to their two previous playoff wins. A fumbled kickoff by Peacock had the looks of the potential for the Raiders to pin the Tornadoes deep in their own territory, but a missed tackle and key blocking led to a Lane Bossence 109 touchdown return tying the score. From that point out nothing seemed to go the Raiders way, Tyson Haas' shoulder injury he picked up in the semifinal prevented him from being a factor in the running game and Zack Kais own injury problems kept the Raiders typically solid ground attack quiet while Peacock's Nathan Fall's return from injury was crucial as the Tornadoes piled on the touchdowns in the first half.
A game that likely would have been much closer had the Raiders had better luck with injuries was 41-7 at halftime and was quite the shame given the hard work and determination the Raiders exhibited getting to the championship game with a 7-1 record. An onside kick attempt to start the second half for the Raiders didn't pan out and despite Dalton Fichtner showing why he was the league MVP with a much better second half performance, a comeback just was not in the cards for the Raiders as the final whistle blew on what was a entertaining year of Raider football.
Peacock head coach Black Buettner was ecstatic in victory and also gave credit to a YRHS program that he says, "Was a tough team to come up against, and we executed the gameplan and credit to our players." Buettner mentioned that the kick return in the first quarter was a key to changing the momentum and that his young team really improved after their loss to the Raiders early in the regular season, beating third place Central 28-14 on the final day of the regular season to lock up first place in the league. Peacock now will face the North division champion in the 3A provincial semifinal.
Raider head coach Roby Sharpe was deflated after the game as the loss marked the end of successful careers of many key players of the Raiders. Fichtner the aforementioned league MVP and key receiver and linebacker Layne Hull will be graduating this year and will be key losses for the program. However, despite the sting of defeat Sharpe was proud of how his team played all season. "We knew we had injuries coming in, we just didn't know how bad they were and it just didn't happen for us today, but I have to give the boys credit as they played hard and they didn't quit and that is what football is all about."
Sharpe mentioned the end of the game was emotional not because of the loss, but because of the loss of six players explaining, "We spend 300 hours a fall with these guys and even more time in the winter lifting weights and we see these young guys come in as little kids and leave as men and it is sad to see those guys leave the program."
The Raiders will only graduate six players from an extremely talented 24 man roster, keeping core grade ten players Zack Kais, Darius Haberstock and Ryan Krochak who will be back next year and the year after in addition to David Balysky and potentially Haas next season.
A talented crop of Jr. Raiders will also be making the move up as key Jr. Raiders Alex Popoff and Caleb Bymak have potential to fill holes that will be left by the graduating Raiders. With a Jr. team that made the Regina Minor Football championship and eighteen returning players from a team that only suffered one loss on its way to the championship game, coach Sharpe and the Raiders will be gearing up for a return to success next season.
"Only one team in 3A football finishes their season off with a win every year, and one year I hope to be that team," closed out Sharpe. Big shoes will need to be filled at quarterback with the loss of Fichtner, but it seems like winning YRHS football is a trend that is here to stay with a solid group of returning and incoming players giving the Raider nation a lot to be excited about heading into winter workouts and spring camp in preperation for the 2013 season.
