Vikings, Mohawks win semis
By RYAN MCCRACKEN on October 19, 2019.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com
The Crescent Heights Vikings believe they can slay the dragon.
After picking up a 21-7 victory over the McCoy-Eagle Butte Colts on Friday at the Methanex Bowl, the Vikings find themselves back in the Rangeland Football Conference final against the five-time reigning champion Hat High Mohawks. But Grade 12 defensive back Garrett Little isn’t convinced they’re the underdogs.
“We need to prove to them that we are the team to beat in this city, and honestly I think we are,” said Little, whose Vikings will face the Mohawks for the title on Friday at 7:30 p.m. “I think we’re the team to beat in this city.”
On top of earning them a trip to the RFC final after missing out last season, Friday’s victory punches Crescent Heights’ ticket to the provincial stage as South Zone champions.Â
“Our goal for Rangeland was to play for first place and give ourselves the best chance to be successful. And we’re a provincial berth team now and that’s a really positive thing moving forward,” said Vikings head coach Sean Davis. “We’re a group of ragtag misfits and a very tight-knit group of guys. There’s a ton of belief and every week we get better and better. They believe they can win. That’s a positive thing and that starts with believing in each other.”Â
McCoy managed to hold Crescent Heights in a scoreless first quarter, but Tony Simmons got the Vikings on the board with a 15-yard run early in the second. While the score ignited Crescent Heights’ bench, a pair of unnecessary roughness penalties put the Colts in the red zone and Seth Fandrick ran one in from 12 yards out to knot the game up.
“I’m very proud of the boys. They’ve worked hard all season and we have a young team,” said Colts head coach Darrell Grass. “Learning to face adversity is something that we have to learn. When you’re a young team you ride the rollercoaster of emotion.”
The Vikings drove back down the field and quarterback Kobe Willis fed Lucas Semrau with a handoff for a short touchdown run to put Crescent Heights back up by seven at halftime.Â
Defence came back to the forefront in the third, but the Vikings managed to extend their lead on a one-yard quarterback sneak from Willis after an untimely Colts penalty extended their drive in the red zone.Â
McCoy kept coming, converting on two consecutive third-down plays to keep a fourth-quarter drive alive, but they were finally shut down at the goal line and the Vikings responded with a lengthy possession to chew vital time off the clock.Â
“We kept the clock moving and we played with tremendous effort,” said Davis. “That’s exactly what I challenged them to do this week and that’s exactly what they did. I’m incredibly proud of them, but I have to tip my hat to the McCoy Colts because they gave us a hell of a fight. Their coaching staff and their team did a hell of a job this year.”
The Colts got the ball back with just over two minutes left, but the clock ran out their hope for a comeback with 25 yards left in front of them.Â
“It stings a bit but hopefully we can learn from that,” said Grass, whose Colts will host the Brooks Buffalos for third place on Friday at 5 p.m. “We’ve got one more game left this season and next season we’ll make sure we’re a little bit better prepared.”
Mohawks make no mistake
The Hat High Mohawks left nothing to chance on Friday night at the Methanex Bowl.
With a ticket to the Rangeland Football Conference final on the line, the five-time reigning champions made sure the Brooks Buffalos never got within sight of the end zone in a 41-0 blowout.
“It feels pretty darn good,” said Hat High Grade 12 Zach McGregor. “We came out real physical. We practiced hard all week, real hard. The coaches were really strict with us, they were real good practices. We came out, worked our arses off and had a good game.”
The Mohawks took over control early, seizing a 28-0 at the half on two touchdowns from Ashton Larson – one in the air and one on the ground – and individuals from Tesema Veurink and Aayden Callan.
“I’m really pleased because we had a couple of significant injuries lately and the response from the boys in practice has been awesome,” said Hat High head coach Quinn Skelton. “Just to come out here tonight and play against a bunch of good athletes like Brooks has, with so many kids that we’re relying on in Grade 10, I just couldn’t be happier with our coaches and our players really stepping up and doing what they’re doing.”
Callan pushed Hat High’s lead to 31-0 on a 25-yard field goal late in the third quarter, then the Mohawks tacked on two more points with a safety early in the fourth. Elijah Kaba pushed the game well out of reach with a 12-yard touchdown run with two minutes left on the clock, then the Mohawks added a single on the ensuing kickoff.
Brooks mounted a stronger effort in the second half, forcing a handful turnovers on Hat High in the red zone, but they were unable to push the ball deep enough into enemy territory to do any damage.
“Coach (Warren) Buckler does a fantastic job with our defence. The kids really respond to him, and they’re prepared,” said Skelton. “We do a lot of work with film, the kids know what to expect, they put themselves in good positions to make plays. And like I said before, it’s just so cool that about half of that team out there is in Grade 10 and just doing what they’re doing, especially after all the kids we graduated last year.”
One of those Grade 10 rookies is Mohawks quarterback Brody Fink – one of roughly a dozen new recruits who won a provincial title with the bantam Hawks last season. While Fink admits he felt some weight on his shoulders stepping behind centre to defend five consecutive titles, he never doubted the team’s ability to take it all the way.
“I definitely felt some pressure but I believed that we could do it and I want to go out there and win it,” said Fink, adding the defence made his job easier. “I like the way our defence plays. They get us hyped up.”
The Mohawks will host the Crescent Heights Vikings in the RFC championship game on Friday.
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