Hafford Vikings' #5 Carter Prystupa sheds a tackle against Big River this season. (Submitted Photo/Vivian Walls)

By Martin Martinson

One day at a time

Hafford Vikings hit season stretch in quest of fifth straight provincial title

Oct 11, 2023 | 6:00 PM

With just a couple of weeks to go in the 2023 football season, the Hafford Vikings are gearing up for what they hope to be another lengthy playoff run, with their sights set on a fifth-straight provincial championship.

The Vikings are currently 4-0 heading into this week’s matchup in Kerrobert with victories over Big River (74-26 and 74-6), Macklin (88-14), and North West Central School (63-15), outscoring their opposition by a combined 299-61 margin.

Despite their dominance, the team remains grounded in their approach to the game, following the lead of head coach Ryan Barnstable, who said heading down the stretch they’re just focused on what they can control and the game ahead of them.

“We’re not too focused on five straight [championships], we’re really just focusing on doing the best we can this year,” the coach said.

A younger team this season, with just a pair of Grade 12s on the roster in quarterback Hunter Barnstable and wide receiver/safety Koen Cherwinski, Barnstable said the team has seen a lot of their younger players really step up into prominent roles.

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“We’ve got quite a few returning starters from last year, but we’re still very young,” he said. “A lot of the boys put in a lot of time training, lifting weights, going to camps, and just trying to get better during the offseason, and I think that’s really helped the young guys in being able to handle playing against older kids.”

“A lot of our backups have been playing significant minutes [too] and doing a good job of filling in and giving us some much-needed depth,” he added.

Featuring a handful of players from surrounding communities including Blaine Lake and Borden, Barnstable said another key component to the group’s success on the field this year has been their ability to mesh quickly together from the get-go.

“A lot of kids that didn’t know each other at the start of the year have been really bonding and really enjoying spending time with each other at practice every day,” he said. “They’ve been coming together really well.”

When it comes to what’s needed to finish the season strong in their bid for a fifth straight provincial title, Barnstable said the key is playing to their strengths and continuing to get better every game.

“We’re quite athletic and we’ve got some good speed and skill,” he said. “We’re not particularly big, so we’ve been working on getting better at executing every week, that’s been a focus, and then defensively just trying to keep getting better at executing on defense.”

With three teams from the conference destined for the provincial quarterfinals this year, the Vikings have already clinched their spot in the playoffs, with their final two games to help sort out final seeding for matchups.

The Vikings will play in Kerrobert this Friday night (Oct. 13), with first place on the line. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. The team will then wrap their regular season in Plenty the following Friday (Oct. 20).

The first round of the playoffs will be on Oct. 28 with all playoff games from there to be played Saturdays at 1 p.m.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1