If there is a such thing as a Game 7 in football, the Yorkton Gridders would find themselves smack-dab in the middle of one this Saturday.
Lose, and they are done.
Win, and they might live to fight/play another day.
If the next game is a Game 7 then their last game was a Game 6
.
They won that won that one pretty handily last weekend.
The Gridders took on the Estevan Chargers.
This game had playoff implications for at least one of the two teams.
Yorkton, needing a victory in each of their last two home games of the season, came out on top, 62-38.
It was also their highest scoring game of the season, by far.
The game also debuted a field goal/convert kicked by a Yorkton football player under the age of 13. Ben Koroluk got his name on the scoresheet, not once or twice, but four times; he could have had it six times, according to his coaches.
Koroluk kicked four converts. He attempted six.
It was the first time the team ever went with the kick. Along with the support of a ton of touchdowns scored, Yorkton went on to its most convincing win.
Head coach Jason Farrell joked that "it would be nice" to be able to spread such offence over a couple of games.
He said it was important to win at home while they still can and carrying it over into this weekend's closer. They play the Thunder Saturday.
"We have to win the next game," he said Saturday. He added that the point spread was actually going to be as critical as winning.
"We needed to win by at least 20 points."
He suggested that the team's defence would once again, be required to come to play.
"The defence has to win this game. They had to stop them."
Early in the first quarter, it did not look like that was going to happen.
The Gridders got the early lead they obviously wanted when Hunter Arnold got the ball rolling and the special teams unit added the extra point to make it 7-0.
Estevan tied the game shortly after however they missed on the convert attempt.
Arnold then ran for his second major of the game while Koroluk kicked the one-point conversion, giving the Gridders the 14-6 advantage.
Yorkton was in position to record a third TD, however Estevan shut them down on the one-yard line on the last play of the first quarter.
Gregory Denbrok scored two touchdowns before the end of the half with Koroluk supplying the extra points. Farrell said the Chargers had a pair of players whom the defence had to shut down while the offence racked up all the points
.
He added that he hopes they can achieve similar results when they head to Regina on the weekend to play the final.
Farrell noted that may not be easy.
"They're good," he said of the opposing Thunder, noting that they were 4-2 heading into last weekend.
