Redmen fight back to stay unbeaten

King of speed: Brix Paraiso (#20) was a constant menace to Unity Warriors in last Thursday’s thrilling 20-20 tie

By Marcus Day

Maple Creek News

The winning streak is over, but the undefeated record remains.

In the last game of the regular season, Maple Creek Redmen mounted a late rearguard action to tie Unity Warriors 20-20.

It was enough to secure first spot in their four-team pool in Conference 1 2A of the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletics Association 6-a-side football league.

As pool leaders, the Redmen will take on bottom-placed Eatonia Spartans in this week’s playoffs, while runners-up Unity play Biggar Blazers.

Teams are awaiting the conference playoffs schedule. It is thought that the Redmen will play on Friday at Maple Creek Composite School grounds, starting at 4pm, although this has yet to be confirmed.

If the Redmen emerge as Conference 1 champions, they will have home advantage in the provincial playoffs, which kick off on Saturday, October 31.

When did Maple Creek last host the provincial quarterfinals? Many years, perhaps even a decade, ago.

The semi-finals take place on Saturday, November 7, and the final is scheduled for Saturday, November 14, which will also see the losing semi-finalists compete for a provincial bronze.

Thursday’s battle with Unity was filled with enough drama – lots desperate last-ditch defending and exhilarating breakaway runs – to take spectators on an emotional rollercoaster.

On the strength of a 5-0 unbeaten run, including a 60-38 away victory over Unity on September 24, Redmen entered the game with cause for optimism.

It was the Warriors, however, who made the fastest start.

By the 3rd quarter they held a 12-6 advantage, extended to 20-6 in the 4th quarter, with the score clock showing 6:11 remaining.

Hope must have begun ebbing away for even the most die-hard fans.

In the final five minutes, however, the Redmen showed their mental resolve, first narrowing the gap to 20-12.

With barely a minute remaining, they struck again, a touchdown and conversion bringing the scores level. It was then a matter of holding defensive lines as the Warriors vainly sought a breakthrough.

Landon Bertram, one of the Redmen’s four coaches, told the News-Times that a powerful Unity team had played with a lot of physicality.

“We came out a little flat at the start … but we played a lot better in the second half.”

An absentee from the Redmen’s line-up, said Bertram, was running back Carson Watson.

Thankfully, Mason O’Neill had stepped forward, and performed well over the last few weeks.

At the end of normal time, the coaches had talked about playing overtime to break the tie, said Bertram.

However, the points tally Unity would have to get to take first place in the pool was deemed insurmountable.

“Unity would have to have won by 23 points to win league, so we decided to end the game,” said Bertram. “We don’t want to get people hurt. We want them to be healthy going forward.”

Bertram said fans had given the Redmen plenty of support as excitement grows with each game.

“It helps when you are winning; it brings people out. The fans have been great so far.”

Bertram spoke of his pride for the team, who would enter the business end of the season in good shape.

“Morale is high today even with a tie,” he said.