A busload of about 35 locals hit the road to Regina for Regina Minor Football League action Sunday.
Nobody on that bus knew that they were in for quite a surprise when that game got going.
If the Yorkton Gridders football club finishes the entire season with only one loss, there is a chance they've already taken it.
Taking on the Regina Wolverines on the campus of the University of Regina, the Yorkton Gridders ran into a smaller version of the Washington Redskins' Donovan McNabb.
They ran into a tough quarterback a few weeks ago too, while playing the Regina Riders, points out Gridder tailback Brendon Weber. Only this time around, the Gridders did not win the game.
"He's got a pretty good arm," observed Weber of Chan Decimon, the Wolverines pivot who collected over 185 all purpose yards.
"This was a (very) strong team."
The score of this one was not even close.
"They were way more focussed and the other teams weren't," Weber chimed.
Jason Farrell, head coach of the Gridders wasn't looking down on Regina's 30-0 pasting either, suggesting that losses are going to come sooner or later.
It is better to have the players' egos deflated at some point during the midway mark of the season rather then go undefeated through the entire season then get brought back down to earth in the post season.
While playing a home game in Yorkton in August, the Gridders met the Riders whose quarterback made Yorkton attempt to play a style of pass defence they hadn't learned yet. Yorkton's offence however was able to compensate and the end result was a 22-6 Yorkton win; it also happened to be their third in a row.
Sunday night in Regina however it was a much different story.
The things that went right for the Yorkton PeeWees that day were the things that don't ever show up on the scoreboard.
"Organization in between the whistles (was good)," points out Farrell moments after his team's first loss on the season.
He didn't take the loss hard either, indicating that if there is a such thing as a good loss, the results Sunday evening against the Wolverines may have been it.
"From a coaching perspective, this is a mid-year reality check."
From the opening play of the game when the Wolverines jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a Yorkton snap miscue ended up in their own end zone.
Regina players ran in for the tackle, it was all downhill from there, scorewise.Two more Wolverines touchdowns in the opening quarter put them out in front 16-0, one of which was followed by a successful two-point convert.
On their second touchdown, Wolverines quarterback Chan Decimon ran the ball himself for 30 yards.Yorkton quarterback Nick Payne wasn't getting a whole lot of help from his offensive line, getting sacked twice before the first quarter ended.
In the second quarter, Regina's Decimon continued to play like he's been attending quarterback camps all winter long, throwing the ball for 20 and 30 yards, one of which came when he was completely off balance.
Yorkton did get close enough to sack him once, but he'd get revenge on another 20+ yard touchdown pass that put his team up 22-0 before halftime.
Decimon completed the opening half by running the ball in himself for his second rushing touchdown from the Yorkton two-yard line.
They led 30-0 at the break and both teams were held off the scoreboard in the second half, which Farrell seemed pleased with.
"I think it was a good thing to happen at this time for our team," he said. He added that when the players are together as a team for such a short period of time, it makes learning plays even harder.
When they play against a team they had no defence for through two whole quarters it will make for a long night.
"You have such little time to work with these guys," Farrell explains, adding that "we didn't have enough time to work on pass protection."
Weber had another strong outing for Yorkton and Farrell credited him for his work on offence."When you have the heart to play the game-and he's got it...he's turning into a leader."
Yorkton's RMFL record slips to 3-1, the Wolverines remain perfect at 4-0. They also have 67 more points scored then allowed.
The Gridder's upcoming week will see them practice for an hour-and-a-half Tuesday through Friday, a move Farrell said he hopes will help make them a little more efficient. They will play the Dinos at Century Field Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
