The John Paul II Crusaders were able to snap a three-game losing skid Friday.
They did so in some of the wildest weather that any high school football will ever face.
The Crusaders dealt with blizzard-like conditions in Meadow Lake as they wrapped their regular season slate with a 26-0 win over the Carpenter Spartans.
鈥淭o be honest I don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e seen a game played in that much snow before,鈥� Crusaders head coach Bruce Yockey said. 鈥淲e were able to hold on to the ball and capitalize on their turnovers.
鈥淲e had a good advantage when it came to field position as well. It seemed like we had the ball in their end of the field for most of the game.鈥�
Throughout most of the season, the Crusaders have used a strong rushing attack to generate offence.
That changed Friday due to the weather, with quarterback Paul Cubbon leading the way through the air.
鈥淲e tried to keep the ball going on the ground with our running game, but it was pretty hard to get any traction going for our offensive line,鈥� Yockey said.
鈥淲e just tried to take advantage of the conditions, especially when we were going downwind.鈥�
The Crusaders defence were dominant right from the start, as they took advantage of the conditions to create turnovers and give their offence great field position.
鈥淲e set the tone right away,鈥� Yockey said.
鈥淒evin McAllister had an outstanding game for us. We moved him to outside linebacker and he had a couple of big hits that really got the rest of the team going.鈥�
The impressive win for the Crusaders came only three days after they suffered a 54-12 loss to defending provincial 3A nine-man champion Warman Wolverines.
鈥淲e still have three key guys that are out of our lineup and we are asking guys to play positions that they have never played before,鈥� Yockey said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e done a really good job of adapting to those challenges.鈥�
The Crusaders, who finished the regular season with a 3-3 record, are now preparing for a playoff game Saturday when they will take on the Martensville Royals at 1 p.m. in Martensville.
The winner of that game will then advance into the provincial quarter-final.
鈥淚 feel like we match up well against them but it鈥檚 going to be a tough game,鈥� Yockey said.
鈥淗opefully we will be playing on grass and not on a snowy field, but we鈥檙e excited about it.鈥�
The two sides previously played in North Battleford on Sept. 22, when the Royals came away with a 36-8 win.
鈥淢artensville is a strong defensive game and they aren鈥檛 going to beat themselves,鈥� Yockey said.
鈥淭he biggest thing that happened in our previous meeting with them is that we turned the ball over at crucial times. If we hang on to the ball and don鈥檛 take any bad penalties, I like our chances.鈥�
