Senator Myles Venne School Huskies beat the La Loche Lakers last week. (Northern Football/Facebook)

By Derek Cornet

Season ending

Northern football teams preparing for Ralph Pilz Championship Games

Oct 15, 2019 | 11:35 AM

Four northern football teams will meet in Prince Albert on Saturday to determine who will be the 2019 league champions.

In tier one action last week, the Creighton Kodiaks won their match 44-20 against the Sandy Bay T-Wolves to advance to the Ralph Pilz Championship Games, while Cumberland House earned the chance to play against them after a match with the Pinehouse Lakers was forfeited. In tier two, the Ahtahkakoop Titans won their spot at the Games after beating the Beauval Voyageurs 25-6, while the Senator Myles Venne School (SMVS) Huskies defeated the La Loche Lakers 38-13.

On Oct. 19, Creighton will play Cumberland House—who are looking for their third consecutive championship win—at 3 p.m. at the Max Clunie Field in Prince Albert. During noon hour, Ahtahkakoop will face off against SMVS.

“It’s been excellent in that the tiering has made for better competition, less one-sided games, kids [are] enjoying the development and really benefitting from the sport,” Northern Lights School Division Superintendent of Education Mark Williment said. “We had more than 200 kids playing this year and that’s more than we’ve ever had before. We hope this format continues to be successful and hopefully it can continue.”

With the new tiering in the Northern Saskatchewan Football League, Williment stated it has given schools like Ahtahkakoop and SMVS the chance at success. He noted Ahtahkakoop is new to the league this season after years hardship in their former league, while SMVS was back on the field after taking a one-year break.

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Senator Coach Steve Aldridge reiterated what Williment had to say about the tier, adding he couldn’t be happier with how the season went and how beneficial the tiering was. He mentioned the team’s last game against La Loche was quite a dominance performance and the defence played better than he had ever seen them before. Alridge expects the Huskies to training three times this week to prepare for the championships.

“I feel like the tiering of the system has helped us a lot and I think taking a year off last year was the right thing to do,” Aldridge said. “We’ve got a lot of interest, a lot of players and we’re playing with a lot of heart.”

Season over for Churchill Chargers

Meanwhile, it was a hard season for the Churchill Community High School Chargers in La Ronge. The team plays nine-aside football in the Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association and finished the season with five losses and no wins. Even though the season ended as it did, Williment noted fans can still look forward to more success in Churchill’s football program in the years to come.

“That’s the way it goes in high school athletics,” he said. “You have some years where you have a bubble of talent in Grade 12 and in some years you’re back to square-one.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno