Hawks, Vikings and Colts battling in Rangeland standings

By JAMES TUBB on October 14, 2022.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

The Rangeland Football Conference standings will be decided tonight with the final slate of regular season games.

The Hat High Hawks and Crescent Heights Vikings are set to meet at the Methanex Bowl for the first time this season. The winner of the contest, which gets underway at 7 p.m., takes first place in the league, setting them up for a first round game against the fourth-place finisher.

Hawks head coach Quinn Skelton said his team knows the magnitude of the game and will have no problem getting ready to face off against the Vikings.

“Everybody gets up to play against our cross-town rivals,” Skelton said. “This game is also for first place in the league and that’ll set us up going into playoffs. So it’s great that we’re going to be playing games each weekend that matter.”

The Hawks enter the game on the heels of a 45-0 loss to the Raymond Comets on Oct. 7. Skelton says they knew that game was going to be hard and approached it as a learning opportunity heading into the final week and playoffs.

Across the field, Vikings head coach Scott Wendell says his team is looking forward to the matchup and seeing who steps up.

“Whatever bodies we put on that field on Friday, they’re going to perform their best,” Wendell said. “Sometimes it’s about the Xs and Os but sometimes it’s also the Jimmys and the Joes, and I’m really excited about our players and what they’re capable of. If we have all of our starters out there and all of our horses performing, we’ve got a good shot at this one.”

Crescent Heights lost 20-0 to Okotoks last Friday, a game Wendell said the Vikings had a couple of chances in and brought a competitive effort to.

The matchup between Hat High and Crescent Heights also has special meaning for both coaches beyond the rivalry. Wendell was a coach at Hat High before he took over at the helm of Crescent Heights to start the year. He said he is looking forward to the matchup and hopefully playing spoiler for the Hawks’ first-place hopes.

Skelton says the game means a lot to him but he and his team won’t take it lightly.

“I’m very proud to have one of my guys take on a head coach position here in town and look after one of our local programs, so I couldn’t be prouder to have Scott in that position,” Skelton said. “But there’s no chance we’re going to take things lightly and not try to play them as tough as we possibly can, I’m not ready to turn that page yet.”

While the Hawks and Vikings face off, the McCoy Colts will be on the road as they head to Brooks to battle with the Buffalos for third place in the football league.

Colts head coach Jole Krassman said their practices this week leading up to tonight’s match have been productive as they work off the Thanksgiving meals and get ready for the Buffalos.

“We’re coming off two pretty good games, the best we’ve played all year, and we haven’t won but that doesn’t discourage the kids yet, so that’s a fantastic thing,” Krassman said. “They’re resilient, they’re growing every day, they’re getting better every day. I’m just really excited to see how they compare against a team that is about equal to us.”

Krassman isn’t looking past tonight’s game in Brooks but said he is looking forward to seeing how his team can succeed in the playoffs as they keep getting better.

“We are a different team than when we started, we’re getting better every day. We’re still not where we want to be obviously. But I think we can come out and just have a good time and keep it competitive,” Krassman said. “That’s that’s the main goal, just build off of the small successes and just ride the playoffs in there, have a great time and enjoy doing it.”

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