NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat High Hawks quarterback James Comstock unleashes a throw in the second quarter of the Hawks' 39-3 win Friday night at the Methanex Bowl over the Catholic Central Cougars.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat High Hawks had a star studded Friday night under the lights.
The Hawks faced off against the Catholic Central Cougars at the Methanex Bowl, the ASAA’s game of the week featured on Telus TV and it was the local team prevailing, coming out on top 39-3.
Catholic Central had the first score, getting on the board with a field goal, before Hat High rattled off 39 unanswered points. It’s a win that sets the tone for the two teams who face off again Friday night as the South zone playoffs get underway.
“Coming in here against Catholic Central, we knew they got some good athletes, but they’re also kind of banged up right now, and we want to play hard,” head coach Quinn Skleton said.
“We just can’t sit back on (Friday)’s game and think that we’ll just walk through it again next week. If we don’t play hard, even if we get into the final it’s not the right mental approach. So we definitely are going to have to buckle down during the week, get the practice time in and then come out here ready to roll again.”
Grade 11 running back Keene Shigehiro racked up four rushing touchdowns on the night as the Hawks led 29-3 at half time. They recorded a field goal and a pick-six touchdown from Corbin Bellamy in the second half to increase the lead.
The Hawks enter the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the South Zone and finish with a 5-3 record, ranked No. 5 among 4A schools. They’ll host the Cougars on Friday at the Methanex Bowl for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
Before the game Friday, the Hawks honoured their 19 senior players, making the most of the opportunity with the game broadcasted on Telus in recognizing their veteran players before playoffs. Skelton says it was a shared excitement on the night for the group.
“It showed right in the very beginning with some of the nerves, but then as they settled in, things went well, but we’ll see what the feedback is from it,” Skelton said. “It’s real exciting for our kids and we’re happy to have that type of attention with the province.”
The Hawks also recognized Skelton in his 35th year with the green and black. Over his career with Hat High he’s coached 700 football players, 450 rugby players and has produced 50-plus university players, 180 junior football players – four of whom have played in the CFL and one, Daniel Federkeil, who won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts.
He’s won five zone titles and one provincial title while coaching rugby. On the football side, he’s totalled 19 Rangeland titles, 12 South zone title and has coached in four provincial finals, capturing one title.
Skelton was joined on the field by his son Jace and was emotional speaking about the honour.
“I’ve been around here a while, I had my son out there with me, so that was pretty cool, a lot of alumni and the fans in the stands, too, it was really a pleasure to run into those guys,” Skelton said wiping away a tear.
“Guys like Doc Little have been with me for the whole 35 years, Bryan Semenok, my whole coaching staff has been around 15-plus years. We’ve got a pretty cool thing going here and a lot of great guys to work with. It’s definitely an honour.”
