Marcus Adams runs wild as Miller Marauders win 6A Regina city championship

The game plan was simple for the Miller Marauders: hand the ball off to running back Marcus Adams.

Adams, who is in his Grade 12 season, had 29 carries for 329 yards and scored six times as the Marauders came back and defeated the Riffel Royals 41-37 in the 6A Regina High School Athletics Association football city championships.

“All the thanks to my blockers. Without them, I’m nothing. They make the blocks and I can do the rest but without them, I can’t do anything,” Adams said. “I’m honoured to have that responsibility from (the coaches) and I’m glad to be able to keep running that rock.”

Adams is the son of former Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive tackle Marcus Adams.

Miller head coach Jason Duczek said Adams is a special player.

“I’m not going to let him finish his Grade 12 year off without giving him the football. I’m not going to apologize for not throwing the football much at all. When we are blocking like that and he’s running like that, he gets the rock and let’s go,” Duczek said.

It wasn’t easy for the Marauders as they were down 37-27 in a game they had once led themselves 21-7.

“When they were coming back, I was on the sidelines saying, ‘It’s not over, it’s not over,'” Adams said. “We knew they were going to come back but we had to keep fighting, keep believing in each other, and keep running that rock.”

Duczek said he preached patience on the sidelines while they were down.

“We went on a penalty parade for a while there that helped them out quite a bit. When we stop beating ourselves, we are a really good football team,” Duczek said. “When we weren’t beating ourselves, it showed on the field how good we can be.”

Riffel defeated the Marauders twice during the regular season as the Royals finished undefeated.

Team captain and two-way player Cole Laidlaw said they had those prior two games in their memory.

“We weren’t going to let that happen again. We had a really tight group and have come together as brothers and we just trust each other and we go out there and fight for each other and I think that really showed,” Laidlaw said.

Miller got out to an early lead in the game as Adams in the first quarter.

Riffel battled back as Royals wide receiver Kyle Frazer got them onto the board.

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Adams then scored the game’s next two touchdowns as the Marauders opened up a 21-7 lead.

But the Royals battled back with a rush in from the one-yard line with 2:20 left in the half. Riffel tied things up with just 26 seconds left in the second quarter as the teams headed into their dressing rooms tied at 21.

The Royals took the lead on their first drive of the third quarter as running back Rhett Mikituk found the end zone. Riffel also added a safety to their score to lead 30-21.

Adams once again broke off a big run as he got the Marauders within three points after a failed two-point conversion.

Riffel opened the lead up once again after another touchdown.

But Adams scored his fifth of the game to make the score 37-34.

The Marauders’ defence came up big with a turnover with just 3:52 left in the game.

That led to Adams scoring his sixth of the game with 2:33 left to power the Marauders to the win.

“Just made the guys believe we are a really good football team still. We’re the top dog until someone knocks us off and no one has knocked us off yet,” Duczek said.

The win now sets up a rematch from last year’s 6A provincial football championship as the Holy Cross Crusaders won the Saskatoon city championship with a 40-7 win over the St. Joseph’s Guardians.

Holy Cross beat Miller in the provincial final 21-16 in 2025.

“Last year was a letdown when we lost by five, and I was devastated. We came back this season for revenge. We knew it was going to be way tougher but this team is different,” Adams said. “I’ve been waiting for this since Nov. 7 of last year. I’m excited.”

That game will take place on Nov. 14 at Leible Field. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.