The John Paul II Crusaders will play their first game in front of the home crowd, Thursday afternoon at Crusader Field. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Thursday Night Lights

JPII Crusaders football team ready for home opener

Sep 14, 2023 | 2:22 PM

It is a day the John Paul II Collegiate senior football team have had circled on the calendar since the start of practices this fall, as the team will host the Humboldt Mohawks for their home opener at Crusader Field.

Just their second game of the season, the Crusaders will be looking for a swift bounce-back from their opening week 24-7 loss at Foam Lake, a game head coach Paul Fransoo said came down to just a couple of key plays that a young team this year will learn from.

“We made a couple of mistakes in that game where the opposition just took advantage of it and made us pay, so hopefully this week we can pick up on those mistakes and execute a bit better than we did the week before,” he said.

“We have a lot of Grade 10s so we’re accepting of the mistakes that come from being young; they’re working hard and they’ve really started to put some things together this week that make them look more and more like a football team.”

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Veteran outside linebacker, Brock Foulston is part of the senior contingent on the Crusaders this year and said even being a younger team, they possess all the tools to be competitive every week.

“We have lots of younger and stronger guys,” Foulston said. “This year all of our players are pretty small but it’s smaller, faster guys that have got the skills [to succeed]. I think we’re going to play awesome and I think our defense is going to do pretty well this year.”

Taking on a Humboldt team fresh off a 53-34 win over Delisle in their own home opener last week, the Crusaders know they will need to be at their best against a strong Mohawks opponent.

Raphael Kabuya, who is in his first season donning the Crusaders’ blue and gold as an offensive and defensive lineman, highlighted the JPII defense as what really sets the tone for the team.

“I see the strength of our group as the defense, it’s pretty strong this year,” he said, adding if there’s one guarantee it’s that the team is “going to work hard every game.”

Deacon Gubbe, now heading into his third year with the school team, playing primarily defensive back and safety, said the Crusaders are itching to get back on the field and pick up that all-important first “W” in front of the home crowd.

“I’m hoping to get quite a few wins this year,” he said of his expectations for the season. “Hopefully we stop the losses [at one] and the rest are all wins, and we can get a nice streak going here. It is our first home game, and we’re a bigger school than a lot of the teams we’re playing, so hopefully a lot of people come out and we have a good turnout.”

Dakota Gatzke, a sort of Swiss Army Knife playing a number of positions on defense, offense, and special teams this year, said heading into Thursday’s game, the most important thing is to make sure they come out ready to perform and start on time.

“You’ve got to get strong, get ready and stretch,” Gatzke said. “If you don’t stretch, you’re going to hurt yourself and we’re coming out here to have a good time and put on a show for the friends and family.”

Kickoff Thursday will be at 4:30 p.m. at Crusader Field, located next to the high school.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1