Not only were the local crew taking the field with the fewest number of players in the league, they dealt with a COVID scare in the early going and found themselves fighting tooth and nail to gain experience on the job in a tough SHSAA Rural 5A High School Football League.
But there they were on Saturday afternoon at Gutheridge Field, finding themselves right in contention with the powerhouse Yorkton Raiders.
And while the championship game-bound Raiders would go on to a comfortable 33-7 victory, the way things played out in the early going was heartening for the youthful Vikings.
“This is the first time we’ve come out and executed from the start of the game, that’s kind of been our offensive issue the whole time, we put one play together and then put a ball on the ground or whatever,” said Vanier head coach Ryan Gottselig. “But to be able to march it down and score on these guys, especially after they scored on a busted play early, to be able to answer is great. So we hung in there pretty well the whole time.”
Yorkton’s Noah Schneider got things going quick, scoring the first of his four touchdowns on the day only 57 seconds into the game on an 86-yard run.
Vanier would come right back, though, marching down the field to set up Saxton Metz with a three-yard run and a 7-6 Vikings lead with just over two minutes gone in the game.
Schneider scored on a seven-yard run before the quarter was out and would add a 28-yard field goal to give the Raiders an 18-7 halftime lead.
Aiden Leslie had a 24-yard touchdown catch early in the third quarter and Scheider would add a four-yard run and 44-yard passing touchdown to his totals to round out major scoring for Yorkton in the second half.
“I’m super proud of these kids,” Gottselig said. “We’re low on numbers but we’re hanging in there every week. These kids give as much effort as any team I’ve coached and it’s just too bad the season wasn’t longer, we’re starting to piece a few things together here.”
The Raiders finished the regular season with a 5-1 record and will travel to Weyburn Saturday for the league championship game.
Vanier, meanwhile, finished at 0-5-1 and will join Peacock and Estevan in a jamboree-style game under the Friday niight lights at MacDonald Field.
“I’m actually really excited for it, it’s going to be a great way to wrap up the season here,” Gottselig said. “Both games against Peacock and Estevan were ton of fun, we were missing our starting quarterback against Peacock so it’ll be nice to be able to line-up with him, and just having some good games between all three teams.”
Other league action on Saturday saw Weyburn (6-0) take a 30-0 win over Peacock (2-4) in Weyburn, while Swift Current (3-3) defeated Estevan (0-5-1) 34-7.
Swift Current faces Central (4-2) in the third-fourth place game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
