They couldn't stop him.
No matter how hard they tried they couldn't stop him.
In the finale of the 2010 Regina Intercollegiate Football League season, the Yorkton Raiders trekked to Regina for a bout with the Johnson Collegiate Wildcats, both teams needing to find a way to win the game in order to advance to the post season.
"They're done," said Roby Sharpe all smiles, Raider head coach in the locker room of the University of Regina Rams men's football club, referring to his team's opponents that evening.
"We had a good game plan in place for this one and the team came together.
It worked like a lucky charm because Johnson couldn't stop YRHS running back Jake Prybylski.
He carried the ball most of the night. It ended up being the difference between going to the playoffs, and going home.
It was also the difference in a 29-0 Yorkton Raider shutout; their third shutout in four games.
"I said 'Jake, you've gotta have a huge game for us'.
I knew we had to run the ball," stated coach Sharpe moments after delivering a victory speech in Ram land.
Prybylski ran the football that game like his backside was set on fire by his worst enemy. Prybylski had gains of 30+ yards on several of his runs.
"He came through big," closed Sharpe.
And Regina could do nothing.
With another touchdown scored as time was winding down, Mackenzie Shore found Kostas Stamatinos for the Raiders' second score; ended up the game's turning point, insists Jason Boyda, Raider offensive co-ordinator.
He added that the running game was the biggest part of the game and it was going to be important to use it every chance they get.
The end result was that Regina didn't have a chance.
"One of the reasons...." explains Boyda in the locker room following YRHS's biggest win of the season, "...was that we firmly established a run game and the receivers did a fantastic job."
He added that once the YRHS run got going (on almost the very first play of the football game, the carrier got hit by the Johnson defence, they were still able to pick up incredible yardage after contact was made.
"We've been working on that 2-3 times per week," notes Boyda.
Prybylski who had numerous carries, including on the first four plays of the game, seemed equally as thrilled about the team's advance to the playoffs as he did about his own play that night.
"It's a great feeling. Now that we're in the playoffs."
Yorkton got on the scoreboard in the opening minutes and added a on-point convert to take a 7-0 lead.
Then the defence forced a turnover on downs when Johnson couldn't run on a third-down-and-two.
YRHS appeared to add to their lead on a field goal but officials waved it off on a penalty and forced the football back five yards; they missed and the Wildcats took over possession on their own 20.
Yorkton would add a second touchdown when Shore spotted Stamatinos to put YRHS up 15-0 adding the extra-point convert to end the first half
"It's quite a feeling right now," said Shore after the game was completed. "We had good connection," he said of the handoffs between himself and Prybylski. "We're a second-half kind of team."
He added that he knew that once YRHS built up a lead, "the d (defence) could shut down their offence."
The teams then played through a scoreless third quarter.
Justin Schneider, who was also honoured as the game star, added a touchdown later in the fourth quarter and a second major gave the Raiders a 28-0 win. Both times, they kicked one-point converts.
Yorkton now awaits the winners of two of Friday night's matchups in order to determine their 3-A quarter final opponent.
