Two members of the YRHS Raiders football team have recently returned from the Canada Cup in Saskatoon with silver medals.
Peter Kozushka and Noah Zerr, both offensive linemen on the YRHS Raiders senior football team, were named to Team Saskatchewan Green that went to the final of the Canada Cup before falling 27-19 to Team Ontario in the gold medal game.
And while the two are similar in stature, both stand 6'6" and weigh approximately 290 pounds, there was one thing extremely different about them. Canada Cup experience.
Kozushka, now in grade 12, is somewhat of a veteran at the Canada Cup, as he made his second appearance at the tournament, debuting for Saskatchewan last year while the 15-year-old Zerr, originally from Langenburg, was one of the youngest players in this year's tournament.
However both share the same opinion when it comes to the experience of playing in the Canada Cup in Saskatchewan. "It was a really great experience," suggested Zerr, the 15-year-old behemoth. "It was really nice to be introduced to some of the best coaches in the Province and some of the best players from around the country."
"It was a great experience," echoed Kozushka, adding, "and playing in Saskatchewan you have the fans in the stands and they're cheering pretty loud. It was a great experience."
Not only was playing in the Canada Cup a great experience, it was a great opportunity as well. A good showing there could generate some real interest from universities. "I'm talking to a few universities right now," admitted Kozushka who was a starting tackle on this year's team. "I still don't know where I'm going to go though."
And while Zerr didn't necessarily spark the interest of all the scouts in attendance, that might just be due to the fact that, as a 15-year-old Canada Cup rookie, he simply didn't play as much as others. "I got a couple of minutes in the first game, a little bit in the second and I didn't play in the third game," said Zerr, continuing, "But I talked to the offensive line coach after the tournament and he said that he'll be happy to see me next year so we'll see how that goes."
But Kozushka and Zerr were not the only two Yorkton representatives at the Canada Cup. Their fellow Raider teammate, defensive lineman Jonathon Muir, as well as coach Jason Boyda were also involved in the tournament as members of the sixth place Team Saskatchewan White, giving Yorkton four representatives at the Canada Cup and solidifying Yorkton's spot as a football hotbed in Saskatchewan.
