Make it 2-0 for the Creighton Kodiaks football team. The team cruised to a second victory of the season Wednesday, beating the Senator Myles Venne Huskies 60-0 in Air Ronge.
Creighton ended the first half ahead 36-0, then finished strong with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and conversions, including picking up a pick-six on the game's final play.
The win takes Creighton's football team to a 2-0 record on the year, having defeated Ahtahkakoop's Chief Ahtahkakohp Titans 54-0 the previous week.
"It went good. We were able to get everybody in to play. That is a goal," said Kodiaks head coach Ryan Karakochuk.
"As the games get harder, that gets harder to do. It's good to get everybody in, especially because they've worked so hard in the practices and we had had some highlight moments. We had three players that never scored a touchdown before get one."
Creighton started strong, scoring a touchdown on the first play - a kickoff return TD courtesy of freshman returner Peyton Pelletier. At least two other Kodiaks also found the endzone for the first time.
"For our star players, we know who the guys are going to be, the ones that are going to be impact players when we get to the nitty gritty at the end. It's nice to see the contributions of players that normally wouldn't score touchdowns or get those opportunities," said Karakochuk.
"When they did contribute, they showed us that they're not that far off and that next year and the year beyond is looking good."
The Kodiaks will host their home opener Sept. 23 at Creighton's Oval of Dreams, playing against Sandy Bay's Hector Thiboutot Community School T-Wolves - the T-Wolves did not play in the cancelled 2020 season or in the 2021 season, marking the first game between the two teams since Sept. 18, 2019. Sandy Bay and Creighton are the only teams in the league with 2-0 records so far this year.
Lights will be brought in to illuminate the field, giving the Kodiaks the first Friday night lights home game in the program's history.
"We know they [Sandy Bay] likes to throw a lot - that's what we've heard from some of the other teams," Karakochuk said.
"Traditionally, Sandy Bay likes to give us a few different formations that are kind of outside the box. I just need to let guys know you know, 'if they line up like this, what does this mean? If they don't line up like this, what is what are our jobs? What are our responsibilities?'"
After that will come the team's biggest test - only four days' rest before heading to Cumberland House to face the Charlebois Community School Islanders, the Kodiaks' biggest on-field rival and perennial contenders. That game, Karakochuk said, would be the squad's toughest game to date.
"I was putting in our scores last night and thought, 'Holy, we've got a quick turnaround," said the coach.
"This will be our trickiest, quickest turnaround that we've ever had, for two games in a row, since we've never had a Friday night game before. I guess it's bittersweet a little bit, because it's going to be a great atmosphere, a great night, but then again, when the game's over, we're going to have to turn around and put it behind us and get ready for another really, really tough challenge on their field."
Elsewhere in the league, Ahtahkakoop defeated the Westside Warriors - a team made of players from Beauval and La Loche - 48-0, while Sandy Bay defeated Pinehouse in a 39-30 squeaker. Cumberland House received a bye this week. Next week will see Pinehouse host Westside and Cumberland House welcome in the Huskies.
