For the second consecutive week, the John Paul II Crusaders looked flat at home.
Really flat.
So flat, in fact, that the Delisle Rebels laid a 48-14 beating on them on Thursday afternoon at Crusaders Field.
JP II is now 2-2 this season and must win one of their final two road games to have a shot at the playoffs.
“Two weeks in a row here our offence is just stagnant,” Crusaders head coach Bruce Yockey said following the loss. “We’re going to have to get back to the drawing board and come up with some things to move the ball a bit better.”
To be fair, the Crusaders were at a significant disadvantage.
When your star running back is taken out of the picture, it makes things difficult for your offence. As was the case with Jacob Stynsky playing limited minutes and at only 50 per cent because of a sprained ankle.
“It would have been a totally different game if Stynsky’s not injured,” Rebels head coach Ken Byers said after his team’s first win of the season. “Stynsky is a stud athlete … and their game is centred around him and so as soon as you take away that run game and you take him away, well that’s their bread and butter.”
Yockey said to give Stynsky credit for trying to play while hurt.
“[Stynsky] gains a lot of yardage after he takes the ball when he’s healthy and [today] he just wasn’t,” Yockey said. “Give him credit that he gave it a try but it just wasn’t there for him today.
Also hurt for the Crusaders was defensive back Narcisse Mbwebwe, who covers a lot of ground, and is sometimes even used as a receiver.
But Yockey made it clear the injury front is not an excuse.
“We had enough guys with experience to do the job and we just were plain and simple, flat today,” he said. “Our passing game was too predictable. When we couldn’t run the ball and you’re looking at second and long all the time, it [limits] you.”
On the other side of things, the Rebels improve to 1-3. They began the season with losses to Martensville, Kindersley, and Warman.
“Our program is usually a program that has had a lot of success in the past,” Byers said. “I’m happy with our players for just pushing through the tough season, and pushing through some tough coaching because football is a tough sport.
Byers said improved blocking from his O-line was a big reason for Thursday’s success, specifically on running plays.
“When they pull and they go to block somebody, and they’re trying to drive them down the field, they created bigger holes for our running game to go through,” he said.
But the run game wasn’t the only thing that was clicking for the Rebels.
Receiver Brant Wiebe had a huge game, starting off with a pick-six on the defensive side while also pulling in two receiving touchdowns.
“[Wiebe] changed the momentum of the game,” Byers said.
Moving forward, JP II visits the powerhouse Warman Wolverines on Thursday, Oct. 6, before closing out the season in Meadow Lake on Friday, Oct. 14.
Nathan Kanter is battlefordsNOW’s sports reporter and voice of the Battlefords North Stars. He can be reached at Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca or tweet him @NathanKanter11
