If the Peacock Tornadoes want to advance to the provincial final, they’re going to have to beat the provincial champions.
The reigning 3A provincial football champion Saskatoon Bishop James Mahoney Saints will come to Moose Jaw Saturday (1 p.m., Gutheridge Field) with a spot in the provincial final on the line. The Saints have won three straight Saskatoon 3A city titles and have plenty of experience vying for a provincial title.
“They’re an experienced team,” said Peacock head coach Blake Buettner.
“They’re really aggressive. They have good athletes and good depth. They have some talent at the skill positions, so they’re solid.”
The Tornadoes were more than solid as they scored seven straight touchdowns to beat Yorkton 49-29 a week ago to claim the Moose Jaw league title.
Peacock last won the title in 2010 and is hungry for more.
“We have some guys who were part of this two years ago,” said Buettner. “They’re happy with the league championship, but we have good leadership from our older kids. Our Grade 12s and our leaders have done a really good of keeping everyone focused. They’ve been there before.”
Offensive lineman Ty Nordick is one of those Grade 12 leaders.
“I think our team is really focused. We’ve had some good practices lately. I think we’re coming together quite nicely,” said Nordick from the Moose Jaw fieldhouse where the Tornadoes practiced Thursday.
The Tornadoes gave away a lot of size to Yorkton, but were able to bottle up the potent Yorkton running game until the score was out of hand. They also managed rush for 258 yards thanks to the blocking up front and the work of talented tailback Nathan Fall.
“We’re going to have to get on the horse and be physical like we have been,” said Nordick. “Our defence has done a good job and as an o-line we’ve been quite physical.”
The Saints amassed a 6-1 regular season record playing against both 3A and 4A competition in Saskatoon and rolled to a 45-7 win over North Battleford in the 3A Saskatoon final Monday.
Saint quarterback Tyson Pylypow passed for 599 yards during the season and then passed for 172 yards and three touchdowns in the Saskatoon 3A final.
