The Sacred Heart senior football team was not in the win column on Oct. 13 in Foam Lake, closing out the regular season, but they got themselves back into it over the weekend thanks to a 23-12 win to start the real season.
The team was coming off of its first loss of the season, which concluded the regular season.
The opening round of Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association (SHSAA) Conference III football playoffs pitted Yorkton's Sacred Heart against their highway 10 friends, the Melville Cobras.
The Cobras were on the wrong end of a 27-14 score the last time the two teams met.
Saturday's playoff game saw both teams' defence play shut-down for most of the first half.
That came as little surprise to Trent Senger, head coach and defensive co-ordinator of the SHHS Saints.
"Melville is one of the most physical teams. It was tight. It was tighter than I would have liked it to be," he said afterwards.
"(But) we have to fix a lot of things," he said, referring to the turnover-fest the game was turning out to be.
Both teams gave up the football like they didn't want it any more. Turnovers came from players that don't usually turn it over. They came often at both ends. Melville fumbled the ball early in their own end.
Penalties also go the better of the teams over and over in the opening half. SHHS appeared to have the opening touchdown on the board early, however, it was called back due to an illegal block on the play.
Melville's defence struck for the first quarterback sack of SHHS's Travis Buzinski.
An illegal procedure call on the Saints on a third down play, resulted in a turnover.
And Melville was able to recover after SHHS fumbled following a play which gained them nine yards.
"We are not going to do well if we just put the ball on the ground," Senger said of the constant drops.
Part of the SHHS strategy for the game was to change the normal course for some of their top producers.
Said Senger, that meant using tail back Preston Liebrecht at the safety position, to try and deny Melville's long-bomb attempts.
"We tried to outguess the opposition," insists Senger. "And it worked."
He added that he questioned his own team's calling by keeping Liebrecht in the game into the fourth quarter, risking injury.
"I don't know why we do that," he said, adding that "Preston doesn't like to come off the field. It is what it is."
Liebrecht's first solid carry of the game came in the second quarter, however, was called back due to illegal procedure on the offence, resulting in a 3rd-down-and-15.
Melville would eventually scored the first major on a quarterback sneak when Matthew Svenson broke past the SHHS goal line to put the Cobras ahead 6-3, the two-point convert attempt failed.
Three SHHS touchdowns before the end of the half had the Saints in the driver's seat.
Alexander Fedorchuk scored on a 20-yard running play and the extra point was good to put the Saints up 10-6.
Then Liebrecht got into the fun with a kick return for a touchdown late in the first half.
That made the score 16-6 Saints.
Then he did it again with less than a minute left in the half off an interception.
Robert Okeny added the single point afterwards and SHHS took a commanding 23-6 lead into the half.
Enter into the second half fumble-fest. Melville blocked a SHHS field goal attempt. SHHS would fumble the ball on the next play but recovered it. Melville would block another field goal attempt.
Melville would fumble the ball on their next drive and SHHS recovered it. Objectionable conduct was called on SHHS. An unnecessary roughness call on Melville cost them 15 yards.
Melville's Svenson would round out the scoring with a late touchdown drive but the two-point convert attempt failed, ending the game 23-12 SHHS.
ROUND TWO
SHHS's next test in the playoffs will be a winner-moves-on, loser-goes-home match that will take them to Melfort. Sacred Heart will take on the 6-0 Melfort Comets. The Comets are one of four undefeated teams in Conference play. Melfort has scored 301 points through seven games through the regular season and allowed 95 points. Their most recent match was a 23-21 win over the Humboldt Mohawks.
Humboldt, last year's defending provincial champions of 9-man football, fell last weekend to the Clavet Cougars.
