The Yorkton Regional High School Raider Gridders had a long bus ride home from Moose Jaw on Saturday.
The senior football team had their dream of winning a 3A 12-man championship dashed by losing 40-8 to the Moose Jaw AE Peacock Tornadoes in the finals.
"It was devastating," said Raider Gridders head coach Roby Sharpe. "To come all that way and lose, it's tough to take, especially since we lost in the finals last year as well against these guys."
In the first quarter of play, the Raider Gridders had to change their original game plan. Star running back Zak Kais, who was Yorkton's star offensive player during the regular-season, broke his collarbone.
"That injury changed everything," said Sharpe. "He's done so much for us this year and because of that our offense really leans on him. A lot of our plays are designed around him."
The Tornadoes took control of the game very early, walking off the field after the first half with a 19-0 lead.
"They came to play," said Sharpe. "You have to give them credit for that. They moved the ball well down field and made a lot good passes that are hard to make in colder conditions."
Heading into the third quarter, the Raider Gridders needed a big play to shift the momentum in their favour. It seemed they got that crucial play as they forced and recovered a fumble on the kickoff. However, the Tornadoes' defence stopped the Raider Gridders' offense inside the Moose Jaw 10-year line. And on the very next player, Tornadoes running back Nathan Fall found a hole and marched down the field 80 yards to set up a touchdown that ultimately knocked the wind out of Yorkton.
"That really sealed our fate," said the Raider Gridders head coach. "We needed that touchdown and we couldn't recover after they scored just after getting the ball back. At that moment you knew it would be very hard to come back and win against a team as good as them."
Peacock's offensive duo of running back Nathan Fall, who rushed for 222 yards on 20 carries, and quarterback Sawyer Buettner, who completed 11 of 14 passes for 196 yards, were ultimately too much for the Raider Gridders to handle.
"They were the better team," said Sharpe. "They have a lot of talent and it showed. They have a great running back and quarterback that are really tough to contain."
Although Sharpe believes it will take him quite a bit of time to get over the loss, he feels a 32-point differential is easier to take than a close game.
"A loss is a loss, but if we lost by a field goal I'd be going over the game for a long time about how we should have called a different play here or did something different here," he said. "But I don't think I'll get much sleep this week. Even though they deserved the win, it's hard to take."
In the last play of the game with it out of the Raider Gridders' reach, Sharpe decided to make their water boy's dream come true. He put in Tyler Senchuk, who suffers from autism, in the game as quarterback.
"Near the end there I thought it would be cool to do," he said. "This guy lives for football - he loves the game just as much as anyone. So I told Tyler to go find a helmet that fits and sure enough he found one. Then we called a timeout and I told their coaches not to hit him because he's our water boy and he didn't have any pads on."
Senchuk exceeded expectations behind centre. He caught the snap in shotgun formation, rolled out right and completed a 15-yard pass to Tyler Ulmer.
"It was amazing to see," said Sharpe. "He looked like Joe Montana back there. We thought he was going for the run and then he threw the ball right before the line of scrimmage and nailed a 15-yard pass. It was very impressive and I am very proud of Tyler."
The Raider Gridders wore pink uniforms in honour of breast cancer awareness.
There is always next year for the Raider Gridders. Taking into account several of their star players are expected to return, such as offensive lineman Peter Kozushka, running back Zak Kais and receiver Alex Popoff, it seems the odds are in their favour to take another run at a championship sooner than later.
"We should be fine next year," said Sharpe. "We have a lot of returning players who really showed they are impact players this year. We'll definitely be in the mix next year."
