TISDALE — After claiming the top seed in its conference, the Tisdale Middle & Secondary School football team is seeking success Saturday as it hosts a provincial quarterfinals contest.
Last week the Tornados took care of business. By dispatching Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate, 40-14, on the road last Friday, TMSS earned the Nine Man Conference One top seed outright. The 6-0 Tornados will host the Fort Qu’Appelle Bison on Saturday at 1 p.m.
“I know even after another great week of practice and another great game, my coaches and my players – we are still hungry for more,” TMSS head football coach Keenan Carrier said. “We enjoyed that win, but as soon as that game was over, now we are focused on what’s coming with playoffs.”
The Tornados opened the season with three straight home victories. Now after earning a trio of road wins, the team is excited to play again at home.
“We’re definitely excited to get that home crowd back out there and cheering us on,” Carrier said. “I really think we’re going to have a big crowd and a lot of community support, so I’m definitely looking forward to that.”
Throughout the season, the Tornados have been led by its veterans. The Grade 12s will be the focus of TMSS’s postseason.
“They’ve put in the hard work for this program for four years now,” Carrier said. “These playoffs are going to be all about these Grade 12s. I can’t wait to see where they lead us.”
Fort Qu’Appelle Saturday
The Fort Qu’Appelle Bison earned the second seed out of Conference Three. The team posted a 3-1 conference record. It beat Foam Lake Composite School, 54-27, in a conference playoff game last weekend.
“It’s playoff football – it’s going to be stiff competition throughout,” Carrier said. “I’m expecting them to come out hard at us and try to lay the boots to us. They got some good athletes there. They got some good play calling. It’ll be a good match up.”
The Bison represent Bert Fox Community School in Fort Qu’Appelle and Balcarres Community School.
Win over MUCC
The first time TMSS and MUCC met this season, the Tornados came away with a 12-point win, 68-56. It is the team’s closest game of the season so far. The Tornados vowed to learn from that contest and came away with a 40-14 victory to close out the regular season.
“The whole week of practice we were definitely focused,” Carrier said. “There was a lot of effort. I think that really showed in the game. … I think every single player … once we got there, they were cool, calm and collected. They were definitely there for a purpose.
“A great team win for us. Our offence looked good. Defence played phenomenal. Special teams stepped up when we needed them to.”
The TMSS defence was led by two Grade 12s: Hunter Edmondson and Jace Farber.
“They really ensured that Melfort couldn’t get that big outside play on us. … I think we did a great job in our secondary covering up those receivers, who had a much bigger game against us the first time we faced them.”
Landon Thibault was a definite factor for the Tornados. Carrier said the slotback makes plays week in and week out for the team on offence. Against MUCC, he also took some reps on defence to help out. Thibault was also big on special teams.
“His performance was highlighted by a very timely kickoff return touchdown right when Melfort was starting to build a little bit of momentum,” Carrier said. “He really squashed that at the right time.”
