With the way things had played out in the Kinsmen Moose Jaw Minor Football U14 division, it had become very apparent that whoever got hot at the right time was going to emerge as the league champion.
As it turns out, that team would be the Swift Current Steelers.
The Steelers were among three teams that finished with identical 4-2 records through the regular season and they faced one of those crews, the Moose Jaw Raiders, in the league championship final on Saturday night at Elk’s Field.
Swift Current would put up 14 points in the first half, add another major in the third quarter and go on to a 21-7 victory in cool and drizzling conditions under the lights.
“It was a really good game, our defence came out and did what they always do and shut the other team down and our offence found the way to drive the ball when they had the chance,” said Steelers coach Zac Nickel. “They’re a tough team to play, but our guys found a way to claw their way to the win.”
Both teams found several drives stalled by penalties in the second half, which made for a lower scoring game than one would expect from a pair of solid offensive teams. In the end, though, the Steelers used the early momentum from their first half success to hold on for the victory.
“Getting up early, that gives us the momentum quick and that plays such an important part in the game,” Nickel said. “That’s what really drove us, getting off to that hot start… the defence dug in and our offence did what they had to do to get us that lead.”
The Raiders scored their lone touchdown with five minutes left, capping a long drive with a pass up the middle that found a wide open receiver.
The Steelers held fast from there, though, ensuring there would be no comeback like the U12 title game with a handful of solid defensive stops to close out the proceedings.
The championship bodes well for the future of high school football in the Swift Current area -- it’s no coincidence that once a minor football program starts to get on a roll, their high school teams soon follow.
“It’s been a lot of years we’ve been working on this program,” Nickel said. “In 2014 we started playing in the Moose Jaw league and we’ve noticed a big difference with kids moving on to the Colts and the competitiveness they have there. And not just for Swift Current, we have kids from Gull Lake and Maple Creek and stuff like that, so all the programs are being helped quite a bit.”
