The John Paul II Crusaders football team got a taste of the end zone in their third game of existence and now should be hungry for more.
The Crusaders fell behind the Unity Warriors early, but outscored the Warriors in the second half of Friday's nine-man football game in Unity.
The offence punched in three touchdowns, Trenton Eckel ran in a major from 45 yards out and quarterback Nathan Eckel passed for two majors as well.
Unity held on to a 34-19 win, but had a lead of 21-0 at one point.
Happy with the improvements made by his team, head coach Bruce Yockey says there is still one major aspect of the game missing both on offence and defence.
"We need to be more consistent," said Yockey. "We want to keep improving on both sides of the ball and be in each game from here on out."
Yockey explains at times the defence is tackling too high and occasionally over pursues allowing for cutbacks, but he says with more game experience that will improve. The offence had some good series, but still had some breakdowns that you'd expect from a first year team.
The coaching staff is working on getting the message through to their players, that everyone on the field has a job every play.
"The players still want to learn and are making adjustments," said Yockey, who like the players are learning the ins and outs of high school football for the first time.
The Crusaders play in Meadow Lake Friday, which will be the end of their three-game road streak. When the Crusaders return for their homecoming game Sept. 30, coach Yockey expects the team to look much different than what fans saw on their first game of the season at Beaver Lions Stadium, a shutout against Kindersley.
Meadow Lake lost last week to Delisle, who haven't allowed a point against in three games, so Yockey says the league basically has Delisle at the top on their own and the rest of the league below them.
