North Battleford Vikings win 3A city football title
It was blustery, with blowing snow and this season’s coldest temperatures, but as the 3A city high school football championship wrapped up Friday at SMF Field, the North Battleford Vikings’ sideline had a certain warmth to it.
The Vikings won the school’s first 3A city title with a 26-15 victory over the Tommy Douglas Tigers.
“Playing in difficult weather is tough,” Vikings head coach Mike Humenny said. “We practised in it all week, which I think conditioned us for it.
“I told them not to let the weather be a factor. I mean, it was at times, but I think our guys showed what we’ve been doing all season long.”
Zach Wolfe hauled in seven passes for a game-high 204 yards for the Vikings, but none were bigger than his 57-yard score on the final play of the first half. It helped them break open a 7-7 defensive struggle and take a 13-7 lead into the half.
“That was a good momentum change,” said Wolfe, who is in his final year at North Battleford. “I had a nice block from Preston Peterson — that was all him. That was a great team effort.”
North Battleford sealed the game after two second-half touchdowns by J.T. Lamb made it 26-9. Hayden Sabadash scored on a late quarterback run for the Tigers.
First-half touchdowns were scored by Keenan Hession of Tommy Douglas, on an 18-yard reception, and Peterson for the Vikings on a five-yard pass.
Vikings quarterback Damon Dutton finished 14 for 21, including an eight-for-eight first half, for a total of 329 yards. His counterpart Sabadash was 18 for 28 for 251 yards and added 90 yards on the ground.
With the win, North Battleford will host the provincial championship on their home field on Nov. 11 at 1:30 p.m.
Playing in difficult weather is tough … I told them not to let the weather be a factor.
“It’s big,” Humenny said. “This is something for our school, and as a program we’ve been working hard for. It’s a big deal to win a city title, but in North Battleford, we’re hosting a provincial final for the first time since 1994 and that’s a massive step forward for us.”
In the 4A city final, the Holy Cross Crusaders were facing the Centennial Chargers in a rematch of last year’s final, and the two teams were playing each other for the fifth time in the last seven years. Holy Cross has won the previous six city titles.
Results were not available at press time, but the complete story is online at thestarphoenix.com.