The YRHS Raiders senior football team surrendered 41 points in Saturday's semi-final game against Moose Jaw's Vanier Vikings, yet still prevailed thanks to 64 points on 677 total yards of offence, 184 through the air and 493 on the ground, in what is considered to be one of the highest scoring playoff games in SHSAA 12-man football history.
The Raiders opened the scoring in the first quarter when MJHSFL all-time rushing leader Zach Kais trotted into the end zone for his first of five touchdowns on the day. An extra point by import kicker Matias Castillo made it 7-0 for Yorkton just under three minutes into the game.
The Vikings and Raiders then traded prolonged drives that petered out before either team could find pay dirt, with the Raiders' drive being the only somewhat fruitful one as punter Darius Haberstock's kick went over the head of the Viking return man and into the end zone for a single point with just 35 seconds remaining in the quarter and an 8-0 Raider lead.
But Vanier would cut that lead to a single point with their first possession of the second quarter as Viking quarterback Matt Stefanovic found receiver Jordan Wingenbach in the end zone for a 10 yard touchdown toss.
The host Raiders answered right back with a Kais 65 yard run to make it 15-7 Yorkton. Vanier once again asked Stefanovic to throw the ball, which he did right into the waiting hands of Yorkton's Caleb Bymak, who intercepted the ball and ran 12 yards before being taken down by a swarm of Viking tacklers.
The interception gave the ball back to the Raiders, who again chose to hand the ball off to Kais, who, after a first down run took a knee and had to leave the game for at least three plays, meaning back up running back Greg Dutchak had to carry the mail for the remainder of the drive.
And not only did Dutchak carry it, he delivered it too, taking the ball the remaining 42 yards to the end zone on eight carries to increase the Raider lead to 22-7 with 4:07 remaining in the half.
"Dutchak did great coming in and giving Kais a rest there," offered Raiders head coach Roby Sharpe following the game. "He's a kid with some experience running the ball so we knew he could get it done if we gave him the chance."
However the pesky Vikings would not go away as the combination of Stefanovic and Wingenbach once again hooked up, this time for a 15 yard touchdown to once again make it a one possession game.
And it looked as if the game would remain a one possession affair heading into the break. But Kais and the Raiders had other ideas, marching the ball down the field in just over two minutes on a drive capped off by a two yard Kais plunge and a 29-14 Raider lead after two quarters.
The Raiders added to their lead in the first minute of the third quarter when Payne took a quarterback keeper play four yards and over the goal-line to make it 36-14.
But once again Vanier just would not die as they too marched the ball down the field and finished off a scoring drive with quarterback keeper of their own when Stefanovic walked into the end zone untouched for a six yard score to cut the Yorkton lead to 15 at 36-21.
Yorkton went up by 22 points when, with 3:58 left in the third quarter Payne found receiver Jon Nagy wide open for a 27 yard catch and run touchdown and a 43-21 Raider lead.
But back-to-back touchdowns by the Vikings, one to end the third quarter and another to open the fourth, brought the game back to a one possession game, 43-35.
But that was as close as the Vikings would get as the Raiders found the end zone three more times in the final quarter, two by Kais and once by Bymak, while Vanier could muster up just one more touchdown in response for a 64-41 final.
"We put up 64 points, that's a lot of points and the offence did great," offered the Raider head coach, before acknowledging the other side of the coin and what Vanier was able to do to the Raider defence. "But they scored 41 on us today and that shows you how much Vanier has been working and how far they've come. I think we had the number one defence in the league and we gave up the least amount of points in the regular season, but this is the playoffs and to put up that many points on us is really saying something."
However Sharpe also pointed out that his defence was missing two key players that should be back for the championship game next weekend, both of which would have caused grief for Stefanovic and company all game long, had they been available: Talon Chupa and Alex Popoff. "We're missing Chupa today which is a big hole in our front seven, but we'll have him back next week," offered Sharpe, continuing, "We're actually hoping to have Alex Popoff back and that would be real nice because that really strengthens up our secondary. He plays safety and teams are scared of him because he's just that good."
Kais of death
Zach Kais, seemingly, is superhuman.
There really is no other explanation for it.
The talented running back, who just happens to be the new all-time rushing leader in MJHSFL history, collected five touchdowns and ran for 420 yards on 31 carries in the YRHS Raiders' 64-41 semi-final victory.
He also had a 50-plus yard touchdown play called back due to a holding penalty, meaning his total could have easily been 470-plus yards on 32 carries.
"It's unbelievable. It blows your mind," said head coach Roby Sharpe when asked about Kais' 420 yard performance. "We don't keep records for our school but I don't think anyone else has ever ran over 400 yards in one game in the history of this school.
"In fact, I don't know what the single game rushing record is in our league, but this one has to be the new record. Who else goes over 400 yards in a game?"
The answer is no one. Not even Kyle Arndt, A.E. Peacock's star running back and Kais' main competition for the top running back in the league.
For some running backs 400 yards is a season. Last year Vanier's Kelton Kouri led his team in rushing with 235 yards on 34 carries; 185 yards less than Kais' total in one game, despite carrying the ball three more times.
But then again, Kais is not normal. According to Sharpe, he might not even be human. "Obviously Kais is a freak, he's so fast and strong that he can't be completely human," joked the Raider coach, adding that, while Kais is in fact extremely talented, it helps that he runs behind the largest offensive line in Saskatchewan high school football. "Then he's running behind those behemoths on the line and they're tough to stop, too. It's scary for other teams because of how big they are and how fast and strong Kais is."
However the Raiders will need Kais to be at his fastest and strongest when they take on the A.E. Peacock Tornadoes on November 1 if they want to have any chance of beating their MJHSFL nemesis.
Seeking retribution
For the third time in the past three seasons the YRHS Raiders will meet the A.E. Peacock Tornadoes in the MJHSFL Championship game on November 1 at Moose Jaw's Gutheridge Field.
The last two times the teams have met, the Tornadoes prevailed, 49-29 in 2012 and 40-8 in 2013, so this time the Raiders hope things will be different.
But they know it won't be easy, especially since they're going into hostile territory while looking for their first championship win. "In the game of football home field advantage is a big thing. We're just going to try and prepare for them and do the best we can," offered Sharpe, continuing, "We have to figure out how to win on the road against these guys. It's always a challenge against them and that's football."
Sharpe is fully aware of the challenge that his team faces, not just from the opposing fan base, which will most likely contain Vanier and Central supporters (after all the Raiders are the common enemy) but from the Tornadoes star player, one Sawyer Buettner. "Sawyer Buettner is an unbelievable football player," explained Sharpe. "You hear guys talking about how he may be the best quarterback they've ever seen at a high school level. You start throwing names around like Teale Orban, who went on to play with the Rams and former Rams quarterback Marc Mueller, well they're saying that Buettner is better than those guys and those guys went on to great university careers.
"He's as good a player as any player you'll see in any high school football game in Canada and probably the United States."
Buettner is good. In fact, he holds the MJHSFL career passing record with 4,136 yards; 1,581 yards more than Colin Belsher's 2,555 yards in a career.
Buettner also holds down three of the top six positions when it comes to passing yards per season, including the sixth, fifth and first positions (the first spot is from this season).
So it's obvious, the Tornadoes will most likely rely heavily on their air attack.
The fans know it, the players know it. And so does Sharpe. "What are we going to do? We're going to stop the pass. How are we going to do it? That's a real good question."
The MJHSFL Final is set for 1:00p.m. on Saturday, November 1 at Moose Jaw's Gutheridge Field.
