The High School Football semifinals are coming up on Saturday and will feature the Moose Jaw League's two new teams going against two cornerstones.
Weyburn Looking For Upset
The Weyburn Eagles will have their work cut out for them when they come to Gutheridge Field on Saturday afternoon to take on the top ranked Peacock Tornadoes.
Weyburn went 2-4 during their first season in the Moose Jaw league and made it to the semifinals with a 26-10 win over the Swift Current Colts in last weekend's quarterfinals. The only meeting of the season between Peacock and Weyburn was a lopsided affair on October 4th when Peacock went to Weyburn and came away with a 36-19 win.
Eagles head coach Darren Abel says it's nice to be going into their next meeting on a bit of a roll, “We've been trying some new things and they've started to work a little bit for us at least and it just gives our kids a little bit of confidence going in against Peacock, the number one ranked team in the Moose Jaw league right now.
“They've had a week off, so they're well rested and we know they're a very well coached group with some great athletes and we're going to have a tough road ahead of us.”
While Weyburn's break hasn't been as long as Peacock's, it's still been the longest break the Eagles have had since their bye at the end of September.
“It's actually been a nice week here, we get a full week of practice in, something that we really haven't been afforded this year with a really tight schedule and playing games every four or five days,” said Abel. “It's been really nice that way, giving our kids a rest and having a full week of preparation to get ready for Peacock.”
The Tornadoes are rolling coming into the semifinals as they haven't lost since September 18th against Yorkton and have been putting up big point totals since then as well with a very balanced attack.
Abel says that makes Peacock a very dangerous team, “You can't really focus on one aspect of their game, you can't focus on stopping the run because they'll kill you with the pass and you try to stop the pass and they'll kill you with the run, so we'll just try our best to minimize the big plays. Hopefully by doing that, we'll stay close with these guys.”
Abel acknowledges that they are big underdogs heading into the game, but says they will be playing with nothing to lose and that makes them dangerous as well, “There's not going to be a whole lot of pressure on us.
“Who knows what can happen on any given day, you can go out and turnovers can happen, or a bad weather game can happen, and things might not go the way that they hope, but we've just got to go out there and play our best and hope that's enough to know them off.”
Peacock and Weyburn hit Gutheridge Field on Saturday afternoon at 1:00pm.
Yorkton Wants Redemption Against Central
Their last meeting was arguably the biggest game of the season and now, the Yorkton Raiders will be looking for some payback on the Central Cyclones in the High School Football semifinals this weekend.
Last time they met, both teams were undefeated and looking to take a hold of first place. The Cyclones went into Yorkton's home field and knocked them off 24-20 in an epic battle.
Raiders head coach Roby Sharpe says that game is still sticking with him and his players, “It's the only game we lost all year; it was at home, we call it Friday Night Lights, so it's basically our biggest game of the year; and for them to come in and beat us, it hurts, it burns, so obviously, we're looking to pay them back.”
That loss appears to have lit a fire under the Raiders as they destroyed their next two regular season opponents, beating Swift Current 43-20 and Estevan 42-16, before 
“We steadily improve as the season goes on. Early in the year, a lot of our guys have never played football, so as the year goes on, we just try to build on their fundamentals and hopefully improve.”
The Raiders turned the ball over five times during their loss to Central and Sharpe says if they can minimized the turnovers this time around, he feels they have a good shot at picking up a win.
“You turn the ball over that much and you're going to have a tough time winning a football game.; you take too many penalties, you're going to have a tough time winning and that's what we did against Central last time.
“We're a pretty good team and I feel that we're the only team that can beat us. We're a little bit firey and our brand of football is hard nosed and sometimes our emotions can get in the way, so if we can just protect the ball and play disciplined football, it's going to be a heck of a good game.”
The Raiders host the Cyclones on Saturday afternoon in Yorkton.
Both Teams Happy To Be In MJ
Yorkton and Weyburn joined the Moose Jaw High School Football League in the offseason, coming over from the Regina Intercollegiate Football League, and both teams are extremely happy with their first season in the Friendly City.
“It's been a wonderful experience, we've been so happy with the move from the Regina Intercollegiate Football League into the Moose Jaw League,” said Abel. “Hanging out with the coaches and meeting them, they've been very welcoming to us, there's a great deal of mutual respect between the coaches, and the competition has been outstanding.”
That statement was reiterated by Sharpe, “I don't think we could be happier (with the move). There's good competition, I just loved the whole atmosphere, I loved the stadium, it's what high school should be, and just the fact that we can earn home playoff games and we feel like we're treated as equals.”
Both teams still have a shot at the League Title in their opening seasons. They'll be trying to get their chance to play for it coming up on the weekend.
Sat, May 4, 8:30 AM
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