The Yorkton Regional High School Raider Gridder junior football team started out flat in their Sunday afternoon date with the Regina Lakers.
Then they turned the tables around completely and won by 12 points.
"We came out flat", said Lance Stilborn, head coach of the team, referring to the opening 24 minutes.
YRHS fell behind by a score of 20-6 early on, but by the end of the game, had a 32-20 victory under their belts.
Stilborn said all his team needed was a little waking up prior to the start of the second half.
"I got in some guys' faces a little bit," he added, suggesting half of them were "still sleeping" with an early Sunday afternoon game time.
Stilborn didn't say exactly what it was he said to the team at the half, but it sure worked.
He said they improved on both sides of the football, as well as on special teams, and were "way more physical".
Despite trailing by 14 points, then turning around and winning by 12 points, Stilborn said they still need to learn the game "a little more".
The victory puts Yorkton's record to 3-2 and Stilborn said there are still three games remaining on the schedule.
"Two of them will be very, very tough," he said.
The next game will be the battle of the Raiders, Yorkton Raiders and the Regina Raiders on Sept. 25 at Liebel Field.
Following that match, Yorkton closes out the home portion of the regular season on Oct. 1 against the Regina Stampeders.
Stilborn said he's looking at the schedule at a pace of one game at a time.
He has coached the team to three wins this season and the team is on pace for a huge improvement over last season. Credit for the season so far goes to each one of the players, he said.
"The credit goes to the players, first and foremost," he said pointing to the scoreboard, recalling that they were trailing 20-6 early on, and rebounded to win 32-20.
The final play of the game saw them intercept a Regina pass and run it into the end zone. "These guys are enjoying it,"
They are definitely enjoying it."
He acknowledged that while some of the players may already be thinking about a possible playoff date at this point, it's not likely any of the coaches are.
Stilborn added that the process of winning games is like the process of "climbing a mountain", he suggested.
