TISDALE — The Tisdale Middle & Secondary School football team displayed resilience and determination, but saw its successful season come to an end in the provincial semifinals.
The Tornados suffered the first loss of its nine-man season when they fell 42-21 to Delisle Composite School on the road last Saturday. TMSS trailed 14-0 in the first half, but rallied to pull within seven, 14-7, at halftime. With 6:15 remaining in the third quarter, the Tornados knotted the contest at 14-14. The host Rebels took a 21-14 lead and then improved it to 28-14. Midway through the fourth, TMSS pulled to within a touchdown and a convert, 28-21, but were unable to get any closer. DCS advances to play its conference rival Martensville High School for the championship.
“At the end of the day, it just wasn’t meant to be for us,” head coach Keenan Carrier said. “Kudos to Delisle. They are a well coached team. They are really fast, and they have some really heavy hitters on their team. They came out and they were relentless throughout.
“I was definitely happy with how our team responded. We got down but we were never out. We have to hold our heads up high for that. … The kids could have folded, but that’s just not the kids we have on our sidelines. I was impressed with how they rallied together, rallied around each other, and were able to make a game out of it.”
The Tornados head coach felt the difference in the contest was the physicality.
“They came out and were hitting hard,” Carrier said. “They have some guys who can play fast. They’ll hit you when they line you up. We just hadn’t seen a team like that this season. We just didn’t have enough horses in the pen to fight back with that.”
The semifinal loss brought to a close an impressive Tornados season. TMSS was 6-0 in conference play and won its provincial quarterfinals match up by 40 points, 62-22, over the Fort Qu’Appelle Bison. The Tornados’ average margin of victory was 39.5 points. Their closest game of the season before playing the Rebels was 12 points, a 68-56 win over Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate. The Tornados’ biggest victory was a 78-0 shutout of La Ronge’s Churchill Community High School. Carrier praised the team’s Grade 12s, who have helped build the program to what it is now.
“I think the whole team and those Grade 12s need to hold their heads up high,” said Carrier, a former TMSS player who has coached the squad for five years. “They did something amazing this year and they definitely put Tisdale Tornado football on the map. So, I couldn’t be prouder of all of them. All the hard work throughout the season. All the dedication, day in and day out.”
The Tornados Grade 12 players this season included Aidan Parlee, Hunter Edmondson, Derek Wassill, Landon Thibault, Jakeb Cortus, Jiho Hur, Nathan Ellingson, Jace Farber, Blake Wilkie-Daschuk and Kolton Knutson. After the team returned to Tisdale on Saturday, the graduating players were given the opportunity to speak. Carrier said they talked about “what the team meant to them, what football means to them, and how football has affected and changed their lives.” He emphasized that this group of successful football players are also good people.
“I couldn’t be happier sending these kids off into the real world because there is some good folk there.”
The Tornados will look to build upon what the Grade 12s have done.
“We have to make sure moving forward with this program we do the right things and we kind of emulate what those Grade 12s have shown us to honour what they have helped create here,” Carrier said.
The head coach said that through this season the younger players saw what you need to do to be successful.
“They know looking up to those guys who are graduating how to act, how to come and focus, prepare. That’s the biggest thing, I think. The kids are going to be the kids, but it’s how you prepare, how you do the little things that are going to make all the difference in high school football.”
Carrier praised the members of his coaching staff. They include former coaches of his, ex-teammates, and others. Some are teachers while others are community members.
“We would not be where we are right now without all the coaches I have by my side,” he said.
During the Tornados’ season, the team was strongly backed by the community. Carrier praised Tisdale, the parents, and the booster club for their support.
“I thought we had more fans in Delisle than Delisle had [Saturday],” he said. “That is something special. … People were excited [this season] about football in this town and that makes me as a coach pretty excited moving forward too.”
