Oh, what a difference a year makes.
It was just under 12 months ago that the Central Cyclones put together one of the most commanding victories in the history of their longstanding cross-town rivalry with the Peacock Tornadoes -- a 65-0 outing that saw two teams at different ends of the spectrum in age and experience.
Fast forward to this past Saturday at Gutheridge Field, and things were far different.
The Tornadoes, now a little bit older and a little bit better, found themselves holding a 7-0 lead after the first half, with their defence having found a way to largely stymie Central’s traditionally high-scoring offence.
But in this rivalry, things can turn on a dime. And they most definitely did after the first half break.
Central running back Javin Boynton would go off for 156 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the second half, capping the day with 16 carries for 178 yards, as the Cyclones battled back for a 14-7 victory.
Central improved to 2-0 with the win, Peacock fell to 1-1.
Boynton accounted for almost all the Cyclones offence, which put up 256 yards on the day, including two pass completions to Keaton Belsher for 27 yards by quarterback Brody Ansell.
Owen Varjassy scored the lone touchdown for Peacock in the first half, finishing the day with nine carries for 40 yards and three catches for 62 yards.
Josh Johnson was the Tornadoes’ leading rusher with 17 carries for 65 yards; quarterback Keaton Doerkson was 6-for-20 passing for 142 yards.
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The Swift Current Colts had a pair of first-half pass reception touchdowns from Ryder Smith to account for all the scoring in their narrow win over the Vanier Vikings.
Smith finished the day with four catches for 57 yards and was their top offensive producer, as the Vikings defence held the Colts to only 58 yards on the ground and 164 yards of offence in total.
Jarron Reid was their top rusher with 39 yards on seven carries; Swift Current was 4-for-14 passing for 106 yards.
Thing is, the Colts defence was even more stalwart, holding Vanier to only 59 yards total offence, the majority of that on the ground through 23 carries for 48 yards.
Joel Marak provided most of that, with 11 rush attempts for 41 yards. Hudson Tallon had five carries for 12 yards.
In the lone out-of-town game for Week 2, the Yorkton Raiders took a 26-10 win over the defending provincial champion Weyburn Eagles in Yorkton.
Week 3 action sees Peacock taking on Vanier on Thursday, with Yorkton at Estevan Friday and Weyburn at Central on Saturday.
