November 6th, 2024

Hawks to face Chinook HS for South Zone football title

By JAMES TUBB on October 29, 2024.

NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB Keene Shigehiro of the Medicine Hat High Hawks runs past a group of Catholic Central Cougars in the Hawks' 36-0 playoff win Friday at the Methanex Bowl.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

The Medicine Hat High Hawks senior football team will play for the 4A South Zone championship this weekend.

The Hawks beat the Catholic Central Cougars 36-0 on Oct. 25, punching their ticket to the South Zone finals against the Cougars who beat the Monsignor McCoy Colts 17-15 the game prior.

The Hawks led 8-0 at half time before tallying 26 points in the second half for the win.

Hat High head coach Quinn Skelton liked his team’s second-half effort.

“It took us a while to get going – mentality, emotionally – just tough getting going in the first half,” Skelton said. “And after a brief chat in the locker room, the boys came out and performed a heck of a lot better.”

The Hawks’ lone touchdown in the first half came from quarterback James Comstock with a goal-line score. A missed field goal was made up for with the Cougars giving up a safety.

Keene Shigehiro had three rushing TDs in the second half for the Hawks. He also had three rushing scores called back on flags. Ryder Parker caught a TD pass from Comstock for the final score of the game.

Looking ahead to the matchup Friday, 7:30 p.m. at the Methanex Bowl, and a team the Hawks beat 46-6 on Oct. 24, Skelton says they’re looking forward to the contest and facing them in better weather than last time.

“We played them last time in a real hurricane in Lethbridge, and it was just a nasty type of condition to play in,’ Skelton said. “They’ll definitely be hungry to come and play us again and redeem themselves because we had a pretty good score against them down there. So they’ll have a lot of pride coming in here and they’ll want to knock us off.”

Earlier in the week, Hawks’ punter Ira Hozack won $3,000 for Hat High courtesy of NFL Canada Way to Play awards. The Grade 12 athlete submitted a video of his technique on a kickoff rouge and a 50-plus yard punt in the 46-6 win over Chinook.

“He deserves the recognition,” Skelton said. “He’s worked really hard at his craft, and he’s a heck of a kicker. It’s really exciting to have him show up on CTV and on commercials between NFL games.”

Colts vs. Vikings

The McCoy Colts and Crescent Heights Vikings will face off in a consolation contest Friday night. Crescent Heights lost 37-6 to W.R. Myers in their 3A South Zone matchup on Oct. 25.

The two teams will face off at 5 p.m. at the Methanex Bowl.

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