MOOSE JAW -- Heading into the South Rural Football League championship final on Saturday afternoon, there was little question as to which team had improved the most heading into the title game.
After losing two of their first three contests, the Swift Current Colts had put together an impressive run the rest of the campaign, closing things out with three straight victories to finish in second place heading into the playoffs.
Their first postseason game was more of the same, a 41-7 win over Balgonie Greenall in the semifinal to send the Colts to the championship final.
But as well as things were going for Swift Current, they were going even better for the Moose Jaw Central Cyclones.
And in the end, all the improvement in the world wasn’t enough for the Colts to get past the defending SRFL champions, who would roll to a 44-3 victory in the title game on Saturday at Gutheridge Field.
The victory caps an undefeated campaign for the Cyclones, who went undefeated at 6-0 in the regular season -- including a 42-0 win over Swift Current in Week 3 -- and downed Weyburn 35-0 in their semifinal.
Central was so dominant in the regular season that they ended up outscoring their opponents 262-46 in the regular season.
The Cyclones didn’t leave much to doubt in the championship final, either.
Keaton Belsher had a pair of touchdown catches in the first half, Kayden Nightingale added another on the ground and Ciaran McCulloch had a field goal as Central rolled out to a 23-0 in the opening 30 minutes.
The Cyclones defence was no small part of that early lead, holding Swift Current to only 43 yards of offence as they built their substantial first-half edge.
Swift Current would get a field goal from Kyle Griffin in the second half, but that would be all the offence they could muster, as they’d finish with 151 total yards on the day.
In the meantime, Central added touchdowns from Dylan Ward, Reid Weiss and Lucas Lind in the second half to cap off their commanding victory.
Kayden Nightingale led the Cyclones ground attack with 16 carries for 142 yards, while Weiss had three catches for 80 yards, Ward four for 77 yards and Belsher three for 61 yards.
Central quarterback Hudson Belsher was 11-for-18 passing for 225 yards, Traeton Potvin completed one of four for 12 yards.
The Cyclones defence made things miserable for Swift Current’s passing game, as Lind, Roman Markin, Brody Breton and Dax Kalanuk all had interceptions, with Lind going for a 34-yard pick six.
All told, Central racked up 392 yards of total offence.
Cade Sanderson had eight carries for 66 yards for the Colts, Jensen Larochelle ran 10 times for 53 yards. Campbell Plewis was their top receiver with two catches for nine yards.
Jaime Robertson was 4-for-15 passing for 23 yards to go along with the four interceptions.
Central now turns their attention to the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association 5A 12-aside semifinal, which will see the Cyclones taking on the North Saskatchewan League champion Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders on Saturday at Max Clunie Field in Prince Albert.
The Crusaders are the defending provincial champions and also are riding an undefeated season, having defeated Prince Albert St. Mary 41-12 in the NSL title game.
Saskatoon Bishop Mahoney faces Regina Johnson in the other semifinal, with the provincial championship game set for Saturday, Nov. 8 at a site to be determined.
Be sure to keep an eye on www.shsaa.ca for up-to-date draws and times as the SHSAA playoffs progress.
