High school football gains two teams

High school football can be very cyclical and the Moose Jaw High School Football League is definitely on the upswing.
After being down to three teams last year, the Moose Jaw High School Football League has added two more teams as the Swift Current Colts rejoin the fold and the Estevan Elecs will make their debut.
"That was our mandate, our goal, at the end of last season was to add a fourth team," said Moose Jaw High School Football League commissioner Larry Segall. "We were actively going to pursue people and look for that fourth team.
"It's great to have Swift Current back. It should be a real exciting year adding those two teams."
Former University of Regina Rams assistant coach Marco Ricci helped start the minor football program in Estevan. As part of that grassroots program, the high school is going to form a team for this season.
"Estevan gave me a phone call and told me there were ready to play high school football and wanted to know if we were interested in adding another team," said Segall. "We were thrilled to have the call us and we welcomed them with open arms."
After spending 11 years in the Moose Jaw league, Swift Current played in the Medicine Hat loop last season. Not playing in the province made them outsiders when it came time to compete for a provincial title.
"Everyone who plays 6-, 9- and 12-man football in the province is now in Saskatchewan league, which works really for advancing through the playoff system towards a potential provincial championship," said Segall.
"If (Swift Current) wants to pursue a provincial championship they have to play in a Saskatchewan league."
Peacock are the defending 3A provincial champions, but the path won't be easy this year for the league champion. They will first travel to Regina to play the provincial semifinal on Nov. 7 and the winner there will travel to Saskatoon on Nov. 14 to play for a provincial crown.
Last year's three team league led to each team playing each other twice in a brief regular season, but opened the door for more exhibition play against schools they may not normally face.
"The three-team league wasn't horrible," said Segall. "Teams were able to find good competition against teams that were of their own ability and have some quality exhibition games and controlled scrimmages. It wasn't horrible, but the thinking was to have a viable league we needed to have more than three teams."
One of the concessions with the addition of the two new teams is that they have the right to host a playoff game if they qualify to in the standings. Previously all playoff games were played in Moose Jaw. The league final, however, will be played at Gutheridge Field no matter who the finalists are.
The high school season will kickoff Sept. 3 when Vanier will play Central at Gutheridge Field and Peacock will travel to Central.

Matthew Gourlie can be reached at 691-1261