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Regina’s Miller Marauders are 6A provincial football champions for the third consecutive year after knocking off the Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders 12-10 in the championship game at SMF Field on Saturday afternoon.
The game was a lot tighter than many expected and the ending was cruel.
With the game tied at 10-10 after the Crusaders’ Britton Tabler scored a game-tying touchdown with 2:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, the squads traded chances but were unable to move the football.
With just over 30 seconds left, the Marauders elected to punt after they were stopped near midfield. They attempted to score a go-ahead rouge on Holy Cross, but the ball bounced out at the one-yard line and pinned the Crusaders deep.
The next play from scrimmage turned out to be the deciding play, as Crusaders quarterback Elias Flory tried to hand off the ball to his running back. The two didn’t connect and the Crusaders had to concede a safety that gave the Marauders a 12-10 lead and, ultimately, the victory.
“That was a tough one for us. Obviously, we battled really hard and had a pretty good comeback at the end by our offence, but just didn’t get it done,” said Crusaders head coach Scott Hundseth. “That’s (a game) of inches, right? We thought we battled pretty hard today and to lose like that it’s hard.”
Regardless of how the game ended, Hundseth said he was proud of how his team battled against one of the top teams in the country.
While Flory was involved in the play that led to the game-winning safety, Hundseth still had praise for his quarterback.
“It was a very ironic game because (the Marauders) run the ball exceptionally well – they have a great O-line — and we run the ball real well, and both teams went to the air,” Hundseth stated. “That’s a sign that both teams realize our strengths and weaknesses maybe. Both teams threw the ball really well. I was really impressed with Eli; he was very impressive today.”
Flory finished the game with 236 yards passing and one touchdown pass.
On the other side, Marauders head coach Jason Duczek was relieved to have come out with another Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association provincial championship.
“That’s our second week in a row with coming down to the wire games. It’s really nice to come out with the win. It’s just been hard battles here the last couple weeks against really good football teams,” Duczek explained. “All they ask at the end of the day is who won the game and we’re very fortunate to have that. I’m very proud what they’ve done.”
Offensively, the Marauders were led by receiver Tanner Donovel, who had 110 yards and on TD on six catches. His quarterback, Brady Vindevoghel, threw for 188 yards and the one touchdown pass.
After the game, Donovel said there were some tense moments on the bench as the clock ticked to zero.
“It feels really good,” he said. “We were kind of slumped on offence there and couldn’t really get much. We waited to the last second and came through and got the victory.”
Donovel added the last two games Miller played this season were the most stressful he’s been a part of in his three years at the school.
When asked about how he’ll remember his team, Duczek called his team a committed group.
“Just great commitment (and) dedication. I love these guys; they’ve worked so hard to be where they’re at,” he stated. “A lot of expectations were held on them to be that good of a football program and it’s hard to do that. They’ve done a great job with their commitment and dedication to keep battling and working at it to get better.”
