Cross-river battle tonight

By Ryan McCracken on September 21, 2018.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

Another chapter in the storied rivalry between the Medicine Hat Mohawks and Crescent Heights Vikings will unfold on the gridiron tonight at the Methanex Bowl.

While Crescent Heights is coming off a disastrous 55-0 exhibition loss to the Cardston Cougars and faces an equally daunting opponent in the four-time repeating Rangeland Football Conference champion Mohawks, Vikings slotback Kaden Wagner says no one is nervous to take the field for tonight’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

“We’ve all been looking forward to this game all year long,” said Wagner. “The past is the past. We don’t look on that. We’re kind of focused on this year and just getting the job done … If we just stick to the basics and everyone does their job — it’s a team sport, it’s not a one man show out there and if we all do our job we can’t fail.”

Vikings head coach Sean Davis says last week’s loss served as a stiff learning tool — one that will hopefully yield a positive response in tonight’s crosstown rivalry.

“Cardston got the best of us. I’m not making excuses for anybody, us coaches didn’t do a good enough job preparing our guys and our guys didn’t come to play like they should have. We’re done with it, there’s nothing we can do. We’re moving on to the Mohawks,” said Davis. “I think we practiced this week with a little bit of fire, a little bit of intensity. And this is a rival game for us —it’s not like playing an exhibition game against a team we never see. These teams know each other, there’s bragging rights that come along with it and it’s been that way for a long time.”

Mohawks head coach Quinn Skelton can attest to how long the rivalry has been alive and well in the Gas City, and this year should prove no different.

“As long as I’ve been around football in Medicine Hat, and that includes my high school days, it’s always been exciting to play with Crescent Heights or McCoy. Our local games are always fun rivalries,” said Skelton. “I know the boys, with social media and all the rest, they hear things during the season and in the off-season, so there’s definitely fuel for the fire and I think everyone is looking forward to playing.”

Hat High linebacker Justin Maser says the Mohawks will not be taking Crescent Heights lightly, no matter what the scoreboard said last week or how the past few seasons have unfolded.

“They’re going to be a good team. They’re always good, they’ve got a couple strong athletes so we’ve just got to bring it to them. Even if they lost 55-0, we’ve got to play them like they won 55-0,” said Maser. “It’s a big game for the cross-river rivalry this year. We’ve been preparing really hard and I think we’re just going to take it to them.”

The Vikings will need to find a way to break through Hat High’s defence in order to forge a path to victory. The Mohawks have allowed just six points in three games this season, including a 54-6 win over the McCoy Colts — their lone RFC contest to date.

“We’ve just got to play like we can,” said Davis, whose Vikings are 0-1 in RFC play with a 15-14 loss to the Brooks Buffalos. “My rule is we try to get one per cent better every day. Even though our record over the last two weeks hasn’t shown that necessarily, we have been getting better and that’s what I like to see.”

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