...I think we have the best quarterback in the league and possibly in the province.
鈥� Roby Sharpe Sr. Raider head coach
The YRHS Sr. Raiders didn鈥檛 just sit idly by during their bye week to open up the 2015 Moose Jaw High School Football League (MJHSFL).
Instead, the Raiders used their extra time to not only practice, but to welcome new players into the fold before their first game this Saturday against the Swift Current Colts. 鈥淲ith us starting after everyone else because of the bye week it was nice, because when school starts you鈥檒l get nine or ten guys who come out because they鈥檙e new to town or they decide that now school is on they want to play football,鈥� offered YRHS Sr. Raider head coach Roby Sharpe. 鈥淪o because of the bye week we were able to ease those kids in and get them used to our program before we had to throw them into a game.鈥�
One of the new Raiders that Sharpe and company wanted to ease into the fold was running back and linebacker Tyrone Munro. 鈥淲e have a nice surprise out of Calgary, a kid by the name of Tyrone Munro who was raised in Bredenbury but was out in Calgary these last couple of years until he moved back,鈥� mentioned Sharpe, adding he thinks Munro will be one of the guys picked to help replace Zach Kais in the Raider backfield. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e going to see some nice things out of him this year because he looks like a pretty explosive back.鈥�
In addition to Munro, Sharpe expects to see two other players - senior Raider veteran Caleb Bymak and junior Raider recruit Brody Popowich 鈥� get their fair share of carries throughout the season. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got Brody Popowich coming up from the junior team and he鈥檚 a heck of a good player and he鈥檚 played some stuff in the offseason,鈥� said the YRHS Sr. Raider head coach. 鈥淗e was on an under-16 team that went to Texas and he did a bunch of stuff over the summer like Rider Bowl and a bunch of Football Sask stuff, so he鈥檚 a very good back.
鈥淭hen of course we have Caleb Bymak and he played on the U-18 team and went to the Canada Cup with Team Saskatchewan and he鈥檚 a freak of an athlete. He鈥檒l help carry the ball for us.鈥�
Handing the ball off to Bymak, Popowich and Munro will be long-time Yorkton quarterback Nick Payne, who returns to the team after a stellar 2014 season that saw him throw for 1,059 yards. 鈥淭hey talked a lot about Sawyer Buettner last year, but I think we have the best quarterback in the league and possibly in the province,鈥� said Sharpe. 鈥淭he kid is a very good player. He鈥檚 smart, mobile, makes good reads and he鈥檚 been playing quarterback for Yorkton football since peewee. He鈥檚 one of the first guys that we鈥檝e ever had that has been able to play peewee, bantam and high school all at the quarterback position so we鈥檙e pretty excited about that.鈥�
However Payne won鈥檛 have his favourite target from a season ago as Alex Popoff graduated this past year, meaning Payne will have to look elsewhere.
Luckily for the Raiders he won鈥檛 have to look too far, as the Raiders have two young and talented receivers ready for the senior division. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got some really good, young receivers in Matthew Mandziuk and Matthew Balysky,鈥� offered Sharpe. 鈥淢andziuk is a heck of a good athlete and he has really good hands on him. Then we鈥檝e got Matthew Balysky, the third in the line of the Balysky鈥檚 that has played for us and those guys are a proven football pedigree in Yorkton and he鈥檚 one heck of a good receiver too, so we should be fine at that position.鈥�
Defensively Sharpe expects Bymak to be one of the leaders, however he also feels that one person won鈥檛 stand out. Instead, the head coach believes that the entire Raider defence will be very tough to solve in 2015. 鈥淥ur entire defensive line has good size and we鈥檙e a pretty physical team. Our defensive backs are all decent players. They鈥檝e got good speed, so do our linebackers,鈥� the Raider bench boss told Yorkton This Week. 鈥淭raditionally we鈥檙e a tough team defensively. We don鈥檛 give up very many points and I think we鈥檒l be similar again this year.鈥�
The Raiders open their 2015 MJHSFL campaign this weekend as they host the Swift Current Colts on Saturday at Century Field. Kickoff is set for 2:00pm.
