Throw in the Cornerstone Christian School Falcons and Peacock Toilers, and the league from top to bottom was a steel-sharpening-steel situation.
It all paid off this weekend as Vanier hosted the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association 4A boys provincial championships.
Central would go on to take a 26-24, 26-24 victory over Vanier in the bronze medal game on Saturday evening, capping a season of success for both squads.
“It’s just astonishing,” said Central captain Eron Mowchenko. “I love this sport, it’s so fun to play and to come out and get provincial bronze is just amazing… “We’ve definitely had our battles with Vanier all year and it’s good we came out on top the last couple ones. They’re a really fun team to play and we’re happy to come away with a win in the last game against them.”
Central went 3-1 in round robin play and didn’t drop a set until their final round robin game against top-seeded and gold-medal finalist Meadow Lake. That included wins over Humboldt (25-11, 25-20), Melville (25-22, 25-14) and Saskatoon E.D. Feehan (25-20, 25-19) before falling 25-18, 25-21 to the Spartans.
The Cyclones rebounded with a 25-23, 25-16 win over Melfort in the quarter-final but lost 25-19, 25-22 to North Battleford John Paul II in their semifinal.
“We had a good start to the weekend and just didn’t have a great semifinal, but we were able to bounce back and win this one here, which is just incredible to see,” Mowchenko said. “I know both teams were both absolutely exhausted after a hard-fought semifinal and to go and have to play two 26-24 games really takes a toll on both teams. But it’s good to see us come out and win a medal.”
Cyclones head coach Cal Carter echoed the importance of the Moose Jaw league to their success.
“You can practice all day long, but if you don’t have the calibre to play against, it’s tough to improve and that’s what makes the difference,” Carter said. “Vanier has made us a much better team all season long, and congratulations to their coaching staff too for such a great season as well. They did such a great job. It just shows how close these teams are and how the Moose Jaw league is a great league to prepare us for this time of year. So we’re really thankful for that.”
The Vikings lost their opener in a barnburner with North Battleford 14-25, 25-13, 15-12 but would go on a roll from there, defeating the Peacock Toilers (25-20, 25-23), Melfort (20-25, 27-25, 15-8) and Tisdale (25-22, 25-11) to finish 3-1 in Pool B.
They kept things going with a 25-20, 25-15 win over E.D. Feehan in their quarter-final and came within a set of advancing to the gold medal final before falling 22-25, 25-22, 15-11 to Meadow Lake.
Peacock didn’t have quite as much luck in their tournament run, losing their opener 25-13, 25-20 to Melfort and falling 25-18, 25-13 to North Battleford to set up a must-win against Tisdale on Saturday morning. They’d prevail in that contest 25-17, 23-25, 15-9 to finish 1-3 in the preliminary round and land a playoff spot.
There, the Toilers 25-10, 25-14 to Meadow Lake.
The North Battleford John Paul II Crusaders would end up claiming the provincial title with a 25-11, 25-20 victory over Meadow Lake in the gold medal game.
