Crusaders top Royals for second time to finish season 2-4

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“We just didn’t show up at all there [last week and] that’s what we said, ‘Hey we’ve got two games left, one game to get a home playoff match and lets wipe the slate clean and start again,’” Crusaders head coach Bruce Yockey said following the win, which was the team’s second against Martensville this season. “Defensively, the kids played well for sure. We did a good job with pass coverage…Zack Wells, our middle linebacker and he played defensive line, I thought he had a really strong game. He was in on a ton of tackles out there.

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“Offensively, our ground game was pretty good. Decklan Wychopen had a good day running. O-line played well. For once, we were able to move the ball quite consistenly on the ground and that helped out a lot.”

With the Crusaders picking up a win, they finish the regular season with a 2-4 record, however, they haven’t quite guaranteed that home playoff game.

The destination of next week’s playoff match and who their opponent will be depends on who wins Friday’s game between Meadow Lake and Kindersley. Depending on the winner, JP will either get to host Martensville again, or they’ll have an opportunity for revenge up in Meadow Lake against the Spartans, who beat them 38-28 earlier this season.

No matter the opponent next week, the good news is there were marked improvements in Thursday’s game.

“We probably should have been able to score a couple more times and we booted a couple of field goals,” Yockey said. “We haven’t done that. It’s something we’ve been working on and I think it’ll help us moving forward.”

The run-game also worked well.

“Declan [Wychopen] and Leo [Senger] are very good,” Yockey said of his two young running backs. “They just need a little bit of a hole and they’ll find their way through. I think you saw that today. There were some really good cut backs by [Wychopen] and the O-line did a good job, so I was pleased.”

The weather was also a bit of a factor for both sides, as it was played at near-zero Celsius

“The days leading up to this were really nice considering this time of year and then today is quite a shock,” Yockey said. “But the kids knew what to expect and give them credit. They worked hard and hung in there and battled through until the end.”

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11