NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
The Hat High Mohawks unveiled their newly updated clubhouse on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The Hat High Mohawks are celebrating the Rangeland Football Conference’s 40th season in style with some flashy new additions to their clubhouse.
While they’ve been practising out of the clubhouse at Hat High for more than a season, head coach Quinn Skelton says they recently completed a few upgrades that help celebrate the decades of history behind the team, as well as the road to a potential sixth straight championship that lies ahead.
“We got the last two banks of lockers delivered today and we got the graphics put in lately by Titanium (Sign and Design), so it just needs a bit of polish now and we’ve got it all set up,” said Skelton, adding it all came together with a great deal of help from the community. “We’ve had contributions from the Yuill Foundation, who helped us get the clubhouse together overall. Since then we’ve had contributions from our booster club, which has been more than generous helping us get things together with their fundraising efforts. And Blake Shaw as well, one of our alumni, has also given some donations to help with the graphics and decorating.”
Part of that decor is a wall mosaic of photos spanning more than 10 years of the team’s history, from bus rides to big hits and unforgettable celebrations. The clubhouse also features several other graphics from team mottos to a panoramic display of a gridiron, as well as new lockers to accommodate every player on the team.
“It’s real nice,” said Grade 12 Zach McGregor. “We just got all new wall graphics, and we’ve got a pretty big team this year so we’ve got new lockers for the other players who are coming up. It should be a good year.”
The Mohawks will look to build on their season-opening 51-6 victory over the McCoy-Eagle Butte Colts when they line up against the Crescent Heights Vikings for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff tonight at the Methanex Bowl. While they have a strong history of success against the Vikings in recent years, McGregor says they won’t be taking their cross-town rivals lightly after Crescent Heights kicked off their season with a 20-13 win over the Brooks Buffalos.
“I heard they’re going to come out strong,” said McGregor. “I was talking to their quarterback and he was telling me they’ve got a pretty good line so that should be a good challenge for us.”
Grade 12 Viking Garrett Little says he and his teammates are brimming with confidence after their hot start to the season, and they’re looking forward to testing themselves against Hat High after struggling against the five-time reigning champions in recent years.
“We’re definitely looking better,” said Little. “We’re feeling better and our team chemistry this year is way better than it has been the last two years.”
Vikings head coach Sean Davis says his players have already faced their share of adversity this season, but they’ve still managed to string together some success in the face of those challenges – which has only made them grow stronger as a unit.
“In football nothing is given to you, and we certainly don’t give it to them as coaches – they’ve got to go out there and earn it,” said Davis. “And they earn it by how hard they play and how tough they play. So far they’ve played very tough. We’ve faced some adversity, had some injuries and things like that, but the guys have taken it in stride. It’s very much a next-man-up mentality and that’s a really positive place to be. We don’t forget about the guys that are hurt, they’re certainly a part of our football team, but the nature of football is next man up and our guys have started to take hold of that mentality.”
The RFC will take a moment to celebrate its 40 years of history when all four teams converge at the Methanex Bowl on Oct. 4. The evening will open with Brooks taking on Hat High at 6 p.m., followed by a battle between the Vikings and Colts. Skelton says he hopes to see alumni from all four teams at the event.
“We’ve talked to the other programs and we’ve got retro jerseys based on 1980,” he said. “We’ve invited alumni to come out from all the years in between so I certainly hope everybody in town or in the area can make it out to the game and wear something they might have had from the past and come out and support their team.”
