With their 23-0 victory over the Peacock Tornadoes at Gutheridge Field, the Elecs became the league’s first-ever Tier II champion after the new playoff format was instituted this season.
The contest also marked their first win over Peacock and first playoff shutout.
In other words, as almost as banner a day a team could have in early November high school football.
“We’re pretty excited and pretty happy,” said Elecs head coach Mark Schott. “We played an excellent game today.
This is definitely the best Elecs football team we’ve ever had. Our team is moving in the right direction and it’s a huge step for us. It’s been a long time coming, we were really excited with the results today and hopefully that can translate into more success going forward.”
Estevan got on the board quickly, as quarterback Kaleb Bechtold hit Chase Martel with a pass that he’d take for a touchdown only 2:48 into the contest.
Illia Korita hit a 23-yard field goal before the quarter was out to put the Elecs up 9-0 and set up a tense string of football heading into the half and through the third quarter.
It was in the final frame that Estevan finally pulled away, as Jacob Bachorick took a pass from Bechtold and went 82 yards for the major 30 seconds into the quarter and 1:16 later, Bechtold would dive seven yards for a touchdown to give the Elecs the 29-0 lead.
“We had a bit of a lucky touchdown there to open the game and then not really much afterwards,” Schott said. “It was nice to be able to come out in the second half and put up some points and create a little bit more separation and put the game away.”
The contest marked the end of an exceptionally difficult season for Peacock, with injuries and off-field tragedies hitting the team with body blows at every corner.
“It’s been a brutal year,” admitted head coach Bert Redstone. “With family deaths in the coaching staff, a kid who has his house go up in flames last night (see related story). And then all the injuries… You have a playoff game and your quarterback is out, your running back is out, your top receiver goes out and your third best receiver isn’t here. So what do you do? It’s just real tough.”
The Tornadoes never gave up, though, and even though their final record wasn’t what they’re used to, Redstone was proud of his troops for battling through it all.
“We had a receiver go down in Drake [Luebke], our top guy and then the Grade 9s and 10s, we go ‘okay who wants to play’ and they all jump up,” Redstone said. “That’s really encouraging and we knew that going forward. And the message we gave today was that next year’s season starts right now, so we’ll be looking for that leadership in the future.”
The Tornadoes were a decidedly young team this season, with only four Grade 12s and only one of those, offensive lineman Adrien Richard, a four-year player on the team.
“He was the only one who has been with us since Grade 9,” Redstone said. “And just to hear him talk to the young o-lineman this season was amazing. Everything you could want from him you got from him. He’s the guy who goes to camps, and he tells the young guys ‘this is how you do things, it’s a grind and you have to love it’. So I couldn’t ask for more from him.”
