MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- Heading into the South Rural Football League semifinal contest against the Weyburn Eagles on Saturday afternoon, the Central Cyclones knew they were going to need something special.
Not only were the Eagles the defending league and provincial champions, they’d lost only once this season -- a 13-0 nailbiter against undefeated Balgonie Greenall -- and had taken a regular season victory over Central only a couple weeks earlier.
But a handful of changes in strategy and personnel, and the Cyclones found a way to come up with their biggest win of the season.
Traeton Potvin had a stellar game at quarterback and Keaton Belsher recorded a pair of touchdowns as Central went on to a 21-7 victory in Weyburn.
The Cyclones will now face Balgonie in the league final next weekend after the Griffins got a late-game touchdown to take a 23-19 win over the Yorkton Raiders in their semifinal.
“I’ll tell you what, that’s the best I’ve seen one of our teams play in a long time and that even includes teams in previous years,” said Central coach Colin Belsher. “Just in terms of an overall complete game, from offence to defence to special teams to the energy and everything. There was never any quit in the boys and it was really special to see.”
The Cyclones were under no illusions that they were in for an easy contest, in no small part to Weyburn’s winning pedigree -- something that the coaching staff made sure their players were aware of and prepared for.
“You’re playing a team you’ve been losing to the last three years, these graduating players had never beaten Weyburn and they know that if they lose this game their season and their high school careers are done,” Belsher said of why his troops rose to the moment.
“We knew we could play with them, that we were on the same level as them, and playing in that Wind Bowl game a couple weeks ago didn’t have us on an even playing field. A lot of the Grade 12s stepped up and really did a great job in a big game.”
Alec Tangan scored the game’s opening major on a fake reverse before Keaton Belsher continued his solid season with a pair of receiving touchdowns.
It certainly didn’t hurt to have Grade 9 pivot Potvin step up with a huge game in his own right, as he made his first playoffs start and put together what coach Belsher described as an almost flawless performance.
“Then the defence was amazing and the offensive line was great as a unit… It was one of those games where everything we practiced and prepared for actually worked, and you don’t see that happen very often,” Belsher said.
Now, things only get more difficult.
Balgonie Greenall has been a force all season in the SRFL, putting together a 7-0 record including a 48-21 win over Central back on Sept. 28. That contest was played in incredibly windy conditions, though, with the Cyclones looking forward to another crack at the Griffins in better weather. Early forecasts have a high of 10 C and moderate winds Saturday in Balgonie.
“Balgonie is a really good team,” Belsher said matter-of-factly. “They run the ball really well, their special teams and their kicker are great, they’re just a well-rounded team. But know what, so are we. We’re playing really well, we’re looking forward to the challenge and I think our boys are ready to step up.”
Game time for the SRFL Final on Saturday, Oct. 26 is 1 p.m. at Leibel Field in Regina.
