Holy Cross defence dominates, Crusaders go back-to-back for Saskatoon 6A championship

It’s not often a single player, especially on defence, can take over a football game with a trophy on the line.

On Friday night, Holy Cross Crusaders defensive back Traven Wiggins did just that with a performance for the ages at SMF Field.

Wiggins had a pair of interceptions returned for pick-sixes against the St. Joseph Guardians, while also adding a sack and a fake punt to guide the Crusaders to their second straight Saskatoon 6A high school football championship by a 40-7 final score.

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The University of Saskatchewan Huskies commit said he wasn’t ready for his high school career to come to an end against the Guardians.

“It felt so good to just come here and dominate our rivals, I loved it,” Wiggins said.

The Crusaders were nearly perfect for 48 minutes on Friday night to advance to the provincial 6A championship game, as their defence forced eight Guardians turnovers and swarmed their cross-city rivals at every chance.

According to Holy Cross head coach Tom Schnitzler, their play on the defensive side of the football has been exceptional right from their first practice.

“We knew from the very first week of training camp that our defence could be a strength of our team,” Schnitzler said.

“We got a lot of good veterans there and some really, really, really special players. Looking back, it’s hard to imagine a front seven that dominant.”

Grade 11 running back Gabe King ran for two touchdowns in the win and said this year’s victory was even more memorable, considering an injury he suffered in the 2025 title game.

“Last year I was actually pretty concussed in the city final,” King said. “I actually don’t remember last year’s city final, but just reliving it, it feels great. I’m super proud of the team and how we played.”

Friday’s game, the seventh straight 6A city title game between the Crusaders and Guardians, started slowly, with Holy Cross leading 3-0 after the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, Holy Cross quarterback Brooks Halliwell connected on an 11-yard passing touchdown to Jack Dukart for the first major of the night and a 10-0 lead.

On the next series by St. Joseph, Wiggins stepped up on a Connor Lang pass to register a 38-yard pick-six to make it 17-0 for Holy Cross with 6:55 left before halftime.

“I saw it in the air and I said, ‘I got to get this,’” Wiggins said. “Our star defensive lineman went down, got the ball and just shot for the end zone. Nothing but end zone there.”

After a Guardians safety, Lang threw his third interception of the night to Holy Cross’ Jonah Wyatt, who ran 38 yards before he was brought down at the five-yard line.

King did the rest of the work on a handoff in the red zone to give Holy Cross a commanding 26-0 lead after the first half.

“It’s awesome getting the ball on the other team’s side of the field,” King said. “That was awesome, ultimately led us to scoring and that’s what helped me score.”

It was more of the same to open the second half for the Crusaders, who faked a third down punt by Wiggins and picked up a new set of downs deep in St. Joseph territory.

King ran in his second touchdown of the night on a 13-yard carry to increase his team’s lead to 33 points.

The Guardians finally came alive with 5:39 left in the third quarter on a wild 40-yard, tip-drill pass from quarterback Noah Bosovich to Chase Chambers to break the shutout and close the deficit to 33-7.

Wiggins made his mark on the final play of the third quarter to halt the Guardians’ comeback attempt, as he intercepted Bosovich and sprinted 58 yards to the end zone for his second touchdown of the night to seal the win.

“You know when the game’s big, (Wiggins) is going to take over,” Schnitzler said.

“He’s going to do something special and he stepped up tonight in a big moment. We’re going to count on him next week as well.”

The Crusaders will have a shot at defending their Saskatchewan 6A title next weekend on the road in Regina.

They’ll take on the Miller Marauders in the provincial title game after a thrilling 41-37 victory over the Riffel Royals on Friday, led by running back Marcus Adams, who posted over 300 yards on the ground and six touchdowns.

“We’re going to enjoy this one,” Schnitzler said. “We’ll get right back in on Monday and start breaking down our film, watching them and getting ready to roll.”

The Crusaders and Marauders will meet in a rematch of last year’s provincial 6A championship, which Holy Cross won 21-16.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Nov. 14 at Leibel Field.

Read more:

• BJM Saints stun Aden Bowman 22-21, win third straight Saskatoon 5A football title
• Not about cost: City of Regina weighs in on Mosaic Stadium turf changes
• U of S Huskies women’s basketball team to raise another U Sports banner