PRINCE ALBERT — The Carlton Crusaders punched their ticket to the North Saskatchewan Football League final with a 39-0 shutout victory over the North Battleford Vikings on Friday night at Max Clunie Field.
The win set up an all-Prince Albert matchup for the North Saskatchewan Football League final as the St. Mary Marauders upset the higher-seeded Martensville Royals 35-18 on Friday afternoon in Martensville.
Crusaders coach Lindsay Strachan was happy to see his team return to the league final for a second consecutive year.
"(I’m) excited for these guys,” he said. “At the start of the year, you hope to put yourself in a position to go win the league and we punched our ticket today.”
Friday’s game was a physical contest that his players were up for.
"I thought we played well,” Strachan said. “You know you're in for a physical test anytime you play North Battleford. There were times where they caused some issues for us physically, but we battled and we worked.”
The Crusaders had great performances on both sides of the ball. Robby Everest had a pair of interceptions and Rylan Morrison scored three touchdowns.
"Rylan's running the ball super tough for us. I mean, the short yardage situations, he's our man. He's doing a great job for us,” Strachan said.
Everest had two interceptions with a total of 23 return yards. Miller Childress added the other Crusaders' interception.
"Robby, big game for him too. Pressure forces those throws out. It's 12 guys working together,” Strachan said.
The Crusaders led 7-0 after the first quarter, 21-0 at halftime and 31-0 after three quarters.
Carlton opened the scoring on a five-yard rushing touchdown for Morrison as time expired in the first quarter. Morrison scored again just over five minutes into the second quarter on a two-yard rushing touchdown. Morrison added his third touchdown at just over 11 minutes of the second quarter with a one-yard rushing touchdown.
In the third quarter, Carlton opened with a 36-yard completion and run by Tucker Proedahl just over two minutes into the quarter. Zane Litzenberger added a 13-yard field goal at 10:10 of the third quarter. Litzenberger was also good on every extra point attempt in the game. Litzenberger also added points with a rouge on a missed field goal.
The Crusaders wrapped up the scoring with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Mason Ambrose by backup quarterback Ethan Twidale.
The Crusaders and Marauders have met in the playoffs during the last two seasons, with both games coming in the semi-finals. The Marauders won the first game 31-28 in 2023, and the Crusaders claimed the 2024 contest 43-0.
"There's always that energy or buzz around that game, so to see that in the league final, it's going to be exciting,” Strachan said. “It's going to be an exciting Saturday here in PA.”
Although Carlton enters the game as the defending champion, Strachan said the past does not matter. They are focused on the future.
"That seems like that's forever ago to us,” he said. “There's been lots of football played since then. That's not in the focus, regardless of who we were prepping for this week. We're trying to put ourselves in a position to be successful, so the fact that it’s St. Mary versus Martensville, I’m indifferent.”
The last time the teams met was a 48-0 victory for Carlton in the Car Guys Classic on Oct. 3.
"We saw them a little bit more recent than Martensville, so it will be a fun week and a great atmosphere next Saturday,” Strachan said.
Strachan said preparations for the game will, as always, begin in the film room.
"I mean, it's just into the film now (to) dissect what they did down in Martensville today and see what we got to do to be successful in all three phases.”
The NSFL championship game is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at Max Clunie Field. The winner will be crowned North Saskatchewan Football champions and represent the league in the 5A provincial playoffs.
The winner of the North will face off against the winning team from the South Rural League in the provincial semifinals, while at the same time, the winners from Saskatoon will play against Regina. Then, the winners of those provincial semifinal matchups will advance to the finals on Nov. 8, which will be hosted by the winners of the North/South game.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
