The Central Cyclones and Yorkton Raiders have been the two best teams in the Moose Jaw High School Football League all season and on Saturday afternoon at Gutheridge Field, they collide to decide this year’s champion.

The Raiders enter as the undefeated, defending league champions, while the Cyclones have put together a record-setting season that has seen them post a 5-1 regular season record.

Central’s only loss of the season came at the hands of the Raiders in Yorkton in Week 2. Since that loss, the Cyclones have had redemption in the league final on their mind.

"We know what they bring, they’re a strong team, but so are we, we’re very strong up front and our grade 12s are ready to lead and we’re looking forward to playing in that game on Saturday," said Central head coach Colin Belsher.

Yorkton won 38-14 over Central in the regular season and went on to dominate the league to the tune of a 6-0 record with a point differential of plus-307.

Belsher said they know where they faltered in that meeting and will be better this time around, "There was a lot of mistakes we made, but credit to them, they forced into those mistakes, so if we can capitalize and fix those mistakes, we’ll be in good shape," he said.

Yorkton quarterback Jordin Rusnack in action this season at Gutheridge Field. (Photo: Marc Smith)

The Raiders offence is run through quarterback Jordin Rusnack, who can hurt you through the air and along the ground. He finished with 205 yards passing and 51 rushing in last week’s semifinal win over Peacock.

The Cyclones’ defence may be up for the challenge as they haven’t been scored on during their two playoff games and have been getting stronger throughout the season.

Central senior linebacker Hunter Morgan said they know they need to contain Rusnack to have a chance at walking out with the title.

"He’s by far their best player, he can run the ball, he’s pretty quick, so we’re just going to try to contain that, get some hits on him and try to slow him down," said Morgan.

"Defensively, we’ve been playing pretty good, we’ve been studying film a lot, trying to find out their tendencies so we know what they’re doing before we go out there."

Offensively, the Cyclones haven’t been firing on all cylinders in the playoffs, finding the end zone just enough for the team to win with 10 points in two games.

Quarterback Ethan Johnson can flip the switch quickly and take control of a game after setting the single-season passing yards record during the regular season. 

Central senior offensive lineman Spencer Newans said the key for them will be to establish the run, "We need to shoot hard off the ball and we’ll be good if we can," he said.

Central quarterback Ethan Johnson throws during last Saturday' semifinal against Swift Current. (Photo: Marc Smith)

This is the first time in the championship game for many of the Cyclones, but nerves don’t seem to be a factor heading into the game. Morgan said the team has been focused on the task at hand.

"We had two goals this year, one was to get to cities and the next one is to win cities, we completed our first one and everyone is excited," he said.

"I would be super excited for coach Belsher, he’s been coaching here for a while and hasn’t got a city [championship] yet, so I just really want to bring it home for him, he puts in a lot of hard work and he deserves it."

The Cyclones and Raiders kick-off from Gutheridge Field at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon.