The Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association 12-Man Rural Football League playoffs are set to kick off this weekend after a hard fought regular season. This year the league will feature a new playoff format, separating into two separate divisions. The top four teams in the league will playoff for the League Championship, while the bottom three teams will face off for the Tier 2 title.

In the first matchup, the first place Yorkton Raiders will host the fourth place Weyburn Eagles tomorrow afternoon.

The Raiders were able to complete a perfect (6-0) season, thanks to a balanced attack on offence and an equally impressive unit on defence. Quarterback Connor Watrych and Receiver Josh Haczkewicz led the way for Yorkton’s offence, which also featured a strong running game with Val Declines in the backfield. The Raiders led the league in both passing and rushing yardage with 1,041 yards through the air and 1,440 on the ground, and scored an average of just over 41 points per game.

The defence was equally impressive, holding opposing offences to an average of nine points per game, including two shutouts. Yorkton’s Brad Heskin led the way for a Raiders defence which led the league in takeaways with 17, including 11interceptions made by eight different players. The team also led the league with 74 penalties taken for a total of 829 yards.

The visiting Weyburn Eagles won a key victory in week seven to earn a place in the playoffs after coming to a record of 3-3. They relied heavily on the running game, leading the league in rushing attempts with 497 and finishing fifth in rushing yards with 933. The Eagles employed a committee backfield with Ben Michel finishing the season fourth in the league with 468 rushing yards, and Austin Knupp adding another 321 yards.

The Weyburn defense was anchored by linebacker Landon Hill and saw Ben Michel play both ways for much of the season. They were tied for second in the league with 14 takeaways, but gave up an average of over 28 points per game. 

Yorkton and Weyburn last saw each other in week six, where the Raiders took a decisive 63-0 win over the Eagles.

In the second semi-final set for tomorrow afternoon, the second place Central Cyclones will take on the third place Swift Current Colts at Gutheridge Field.

The 4-2 Cyclones featured a balanced attack but relied heavily on running back Ryan Vincent and the running game in tight contests. The Cyclones lead the league with 10.1 yards per carry, and Vincent also finished tops with 1,210 yards rushing, which is the fifth best single season mark in league history. Vincent also shared the league lead in points scored with 84. Cyclone Quarterback Wil Ansell finished with 736 yards passing, good for fourth in the league, and spread the ball around well, with eight different receivers registering catches. Central scored an average of 29.5 points per game, but did experience some troubles with ball security, finishing in a tie for the most giveaways in the league with 13.

The Cyclones had a balanced effort on defence, led by linebacker Kael Nichols and interception leader Jake McLean at safety. Central finished second in the league with 10 interceptions and held opponents to an average of 16.5 points per game, including one shutout.

The Swift Current Colts also finished the season at (4-2) on the back of their offensive catalyst Rhett Vavra. He finished the season in the league lead for receptions (26), receiving yards (515) and points (84), while also adding another 436 yards rushing. Quarterback Carter Moberg also had an impressive season, leading the league with 1,037 yards passing. The Colts offence was the second best in the league for total yards at 2,104, gaining 1,071 on the ground and 1,033 in the air. The Colts also finished tied for league worst with 13 giveaways but were able to average just under 35 points per game.

Swift Current’s defense was led by Ethan Kurtz who finished with three interceptions, and the Colts finished second in the league with 14 takeaways, including eight fumble recoveries. They had a somewhat up and down season allowing over 25 points in three separate games, but also claimed two shutouts, for an average of just over 17 points per game against.

Central and Swift Current haven’t played since their week one matchup to open the season, which saw the Cyclones pull off a tight 35-30 road win over the Colts.

The two winning teams from these matchups will face off in the league final next Sat., Nov. 2, with the winner advancing directly to the provincial final as the host team.

In the tier two division, the Peacock Tornadoes have earned a bye to the final as the fifth place team at 2-4. The Tornadoes saw a fairly balanced attack on offense with Quarterback Kyle Yamniuk throwing for 448 yards and rushing for 238 more. Peacock running back Kayde Shymko also added 371 yards on the ground as the team finished in 6th place for total yards with 1,215, and averaged just over nine points per game.

The strength of the Tornadoes team was their defence, led by Jude Tysdal-Fall who played all sides of the ball, including taking on kicking duties. Peacock’s two wins came on the back of strong defensive performances, including holding Central to six points in an upset win and limiting an explosive Estevan offence to just seven points. The Tornadoes registered nine takeaways on the year and gave up an average of just over 21 points per game.

In the tier 2 semi-final the sixth place Estevan Elecs will host the seventh place Vanier Vikings tomorrow afternoon.

The Estevan Elecs finished their season at 1-5 despite having a well balanced and fairly productive offence. The team finished fourth in the league with 1,675 yards, including 1,039 of them coming on the ground. Despite struggling to find success through the air the Elecs called 138 passing plays, the most in the league, compared to only 132 run plays. Running back Jonah Bachorcik led the way for the Elecs on the ground with 969 yards, good for second in the league. Quarterback Kaleb Bechtold finished the season in third with 822 yards, while receiver Nigel Mack was also third in the league with 20 receptions for 268 yards. Estevan was able to average 23.5 points per game.

Hunter Eagles was the leader for the Elecs defence and pitched in with two interceptions and one fumble recovery for two defensive touchdowns and was a catalyst when he was on the field. Unfortunately the rest of the Estevan defence struggled to match his play giving up an average of over 37 points per game. Despite their week 3 shutout, the Elecs saw opponents break the 50 point mark on three separate occasions.

The Vanier Vikings season brought them to a 1-5 finish, good for seventh place in the league. The Vikings did protect the ball well with the highest completion percentage at 58 percent, and the lowest number of interceptions thrown with only four. Quarterback Samuel Caplette finished with 441 yards through the air, and running back Xander Montgomery added 284 yards on the ground, as the team scored at a pace of seven points per game this season.

Vanier featured a handful of players on both sides of the ball this year, including Connor Lamb who was a key defender to go along with his efforts at receiver. Vanier was unfortunately only able to manage two takeaways over the course of the season and finished third in the league in penalties with 52 for a total of 450 yards. The Vikings were able to hold Peacock to 13 points in a week 5 upset win, but gave up over 33 points per game over the course of the season.

Estevan and Vanier last faced off in week 4, with the Elecs taking a 35-0 victory over the Vikings at Gutheridge Field. The winner of this matchup will take on Peacock next Sat., Nov. 2 for the Tier 2 championship.