The Creighton Kodiaks picked up right where they left off in their first game of the season, beating Ahtahkakoop 54-0 on the road Wednesday.
Creighton started its title defence with a convincing victory over the Chief Ahtahkakohp Titans, racking up 48 points in the first half before sending the starters to the bench at half-time. The win puts the Kodiaks at 1-0 on the season - the team has now not lost a game against in-conference opponents in almost three years.
"We didn't know what they had, but we knew we had a good squad going in there," said Kodiaks head coach Ryan Karakochuk.
"We could get every single player playing and every player played at least a quarter. It was really awesome to get everybody in to see how they would do and learn some new things from some rookies that showed us they're not far off from being starters. It was a good way to start."
The coach said he likes what he's seeing from the Kodiaks' offence, though other areas of the team still need improvement.
"I feel really good offensively. I still think we have some stuff to prove on defence. It's a whole new defensive group, for the most part," he said.
"I think we played well, but think we missed some tackles that I wasn't too impressed on - I'll have to look at the film just to see some of that. We bent a little, but we didn't break. There were a couple of players that just absolutely stood out."
Elsewhere in the league, last season's league runner-up also started strong. Cumberland House's Charlebois Community School Islanders beat Pinehouse 66-18 in their season opener. Sandy Bay's Hector Thiboutot T-Wolves won in a slugfest against the Lac La Ronge Indian Band's Senator Myles Venne (SMVS) Huskies, winning in their first game since 2019 by a 66-58 score.
Karakochuk is thinking about the championship rematch between the Kodiaks and Cumberland House, which is slated for Week 4 on the Islanders' home field.
"If we stay healthy and all those guys are at full speed when we need them the most, meaning the Cumberland game and provincials, I think that's going to be a tough offense to stop. Marcus [Kennedy] threw the ball the best I've ever seen him throw it. Carson [Straile] is as quick and as shifty of a running back as we've ever had, combined with speed," he said.
"It's a tough and a good mix."
Next week, Creighton will head back on the road to play SMVS in Air Ronge, while Ahtahkakoop will face the Westside Warriors, a team made of players from La Loche and Beauval. Sandy Bay will host their first football home game since 2019 next Thursday, playing Pinehouse. Cumberland House will have a bye week.
The Kodiaks will play their first home game of the season Sept. 23 on the Oval of Dreams, playing a night game under Friday night lights for the first time. The visitors will be the Sandy Bay T-Wolves, rekindling a rivalry between Creighton and their closest opponents.
