Defence shines as Vikings victorious in 3A provincial final
Heading into Saturday’s 3A 12-man football provincial final, the North Battleford Comprehensive High School Vikings had an arsenal of offensive weapons at their disposal.
Quarterback Damon Dutton had led the Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate 3A division in passing yards in the regular season (1,844), while receivers Presley Peterson and Zach Wolfe each had over 400 yards receiving. Then there was Grade 11 running back J.T. Lamb, who blew away the competition with over 1,000 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in the regular season, and had topped 200 yards rushing in each of his two playoff games.
But come Saturday, with a provincial championship on the line against the Yorkton Raiders — a team that had defeated the Vikings in North Battleford in the 1994 provincial final — none of those offensive catalysts ended up being the MVP.
Instead, the team’s defence, as a whole, was the real MVP, much like they were in their SSSAD title-clinching game one week prior.