MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- The Central Cyclones and Peacock Tornadoes found themselves in a good old-fashioned battle to open the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Rural Football League season on Saturday afternoon at Gutheridge Field.
And while the Cyclones would go on to a 28-24 victory in the first game of the regular season for both teams, a break or two in the other direction could have seen a much different result.
As it stands, Central scored a late touchdown to take a 28-17 lead, only for Peacock to come right back down the field and get one of their own to create a dramatic finish. The Tornadoes took a shot at the onside kick on their final play, but Central would recover and run out the clock.
The result was a far cry from the commanding wins Central had put up against the Tornadoes in recent years, and a sign of what’s expected to be all sorts of parity in the seven-team this season.
“I think that speaks well for our league, it looks like it’s going to be pretty tight this year,” said Cyclones head coach Colin Belsher. “I don’t think it’s going to be a one- or two-team race this year, which is good. It’s good for the kids to know that every team has a chance to win on any day.”
It looked in the early going like little had changed between the two teams, as Keaton Belsher hauled in a Wyatt Craik pass on the third play of the game and went 51 yards for the major.
The Tornadoes came back quickly, though, and on the ensuing drive, Leighton Dufour would snare a five-yard pass into the end zone for the quick answer, and the battle was on.
The teams ended up tied 14-14 at the half before a Mahamed Abdi field goal gave Peacock their first lead early in the third quarter. Central picked up another major not long after to go up 21-17 before their fourth-quarter touchdown set up the late-game dramatics.
Belsher led Central with six catches for 90 yards and four carries for 74 yards while also recording a pair of touchdowns. Kaden Nightingale had a solid game of his own on the ground with 17 carries for 145 yards and two majors while Craik finished up 12-for-19 passing for 160 yards.
Peacock quarterback Owen Varjassy was impressive in his own right, going 18-for-33 for 280 yards passing and three touchdowns, one each to Dufour, Kingston Usher and Nate Measner. Six different players had at least a catch for Peacock, with Usher hauling in four for 73 yards and Kam Lopston six for 61 yards. Varjassy led the way on the ground with 11 carries for 58 yards.
The Cyclones -- who reached the league final last year with a veteran-laden squad -- have seen quite a bit of turnover this season, having lost 22 Grade 12s, 18 of those starters. That made a far different look on Saturday afternoon as the two teams matched up well all over the field.
“We didn’t play the greatest, but we played solid,” coach Belsher said. “Peacock is a really good team and I have to give them a lot of credit, they came out ready to go and fought with us toe-to-toe, as we did with them.”
Both teams had several of their top players going both ways, which wasn’t exactly the most pleasant situation given how temperatures approached 35 C by the end of the game. But that’s how it goes when you’re in a tough battle that anyone can win.
“It was an eyeopener for our team, too,” Belsher said. “We’ve had significant success against Peacock the last couple years, and I think this kind of made the guys realize that the game isn’t just given to you, you have to dig deep to get that win.”
League action continues next weekend, with Central at Estevan and Peacock hosting Swift Current, with that contest at 1 p.m. Saturday at Gutheridge Field.
