One week after a tough loss on the road, the Creighton Kodiaks football team rebounded with a 42-1 victory in their regular season-ending game. The win means Creighton will play Cumberland House for the league championship next week.
The Kodiaks' game Oct. 13 against the Ahtahkakoop Titans kicked off in the midst of a strong northern wind that would play havoc with both teams throughout the game. On the opening kickoff, Ahtahkakoop used that strong wind to blow a kick clean through Creighton's endzone, giving them a rouge and a 1-0 lead.
That lead would last for exactly three plays, when Carson Straile got the ball and found open field. The wind almost blew the ball out of his hands at the line of scrimmage, but Straile recovered and ran it all the way to the house for the Kodiaks' first touchdown. The kick would get caught in the wind and be blown wide, giving Creighton a 6-1 early lead - one they wouldn't relinquish.
The Titans would march back down the field, getting all the way to the Kodiaks' one yard line, but Creighton's defence held tough and forced a turnover on downs. Two plays later, Straile ran in his second touchdown from more than 70 yards out - after Grace Dubinak hit the convert, Creighton led 14-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Creighton would get another touchdown through the air, with Aidan Joa-Hall snagging a ball despite the wind and running it all the way down, then a pair of big runs from quarterback Marcus Kennedy put another touchdown on the board, making the score 26-1. Following a pair of mutual three-and-outs, several wind-blocked incomplete passes and a Creighton fumble recovered by Ahtahkakoop, Joa-Hall would catch his second touchdown of the day to end the first half - Creighton 34, Ahtahkakoop 1.
Creighton would sub in rookies and younger players in the second half, getting a touchdown on the ground from Jordan Donaghy to hit the final score.
The win puts Creighton at 5-1 on the season, while the Charlebois Community School Islanders from Cumberland House will finish the season with a 5-0 record, picking up a 7-0 win over Sandy Bay. That means the Kodiaks will play against the Islanders - the team that handed Creighton their only loss of the season - in Cumberland House Oct. 22. The game will start at 1 p.m. Saskatchewan time, 2 p.m. local time.
Both the Kodiaks and Islanders will play provincial playoff games later this month as well. Creighton is the top 2A school in the league, having beaten the three other 2A teams in the league - Pinehouse, Senator Myles Venne from Air Ronge and Ahtahkakoop. That will set up a date with the Kodiaks' toughest test yet - the undefeated Wakaw Warriors. Wakaw put up more than 63 points a game this year on average while giving up barely 30 points on average and has beaten Creighton in provincial games in the past, defeating Creighton in 2017.
The Islanders, as the top 1A school in the league, will play in St. Brieux later this month against the 2-4 Crusaders.
