Raiders Spoil Vikings Perfect Season

Photos and Story by Robert Thomas

For the first 12 minutes of the game it looked like the U14 Vikings were set to finish the 2023 season of Kinsmen Moose Jaw Minor Football with a perfect 6 - 0 record.

But then a few minutes into the second quarter the U14 Raiders managed to grind their game into gear.

The Raiders would immediately kick it into a higher gear and offensively and rely upon quarterback Traeten Potvin’s acrobatic running game and spear like passes to defeat the Vikings 23 - 8.

Moose Jaw Raiders Callum Seargeant reaches for a pass - mj independent photo

The First Quarter saw the Vikings opening scoring at 6:18 with a pass from quarterback Hudson Belsher to Dylan Ward who simply towered above any tacklers to score a touchdown.

The Vikings would score a two point convert to make the score Vikings 8 and Raiders 0 at the end of the quarter.

Moose Jaw Raiders Lucas Lind is tackled by two Moose Jaw Vikings players along the sideline - mj independent photo

The Second Quarter saw the rebirth of the Raiders as defensively they started their strangulation strategy to choke out the giant on the field.

A Moose Jaw Vikings player just steps out of bounds - MJ independent photo

The Third Quarter saw one of the best plays by the Raiders who managed after a penalty to run the ball 29 yards into the end zone with less than a minute in the quarter.

Previously the Raiders at 7:23 had scored a touchdown on a rushing play but missed the two point conversion.

Moose Jaw Viking Caleb Artavia (left) fends off a would be Moose Jaw Raiders tackler - mj independent photo

The Fourth Quarter saw the Raiders quarterback Traeten Potvin rush for a first down in a third and long situation.

Potvin would subsequently rush down the middle in the series of downs dragging several Vikings players along for a short ride to make the score 20 - 8.

The Raiders would cap off the scoring with a field goal.

Moose Jaw Vikings Keltyn Chappel (left) squares off against Moose Jaw Raiders Jesse demarce - mj independent photo

Coach’s Comments

For Raiders rookie head coach Britt Johnstone being a giant killer and spoiling the Vikings perfect season was a great experience.

Moose Jaw Raiders quarterback Traeten Potvin (right) sidesteps moose jaw vikings tackler everrett dunlop - mj independent photo

“It feels amazing to win this game. We have been waiting three weeks for this rematch,” Johnstone said in the post game interview.

“We came in pretty slow in the first half we definitely killed the second half. Our offence had a stellar game.”

Moose Jaw Raiders Riley Hill tries to tackle Moose Jaw Vikings Keltyn Chappel who just steps inbounds for what would be a touchdown. However a penalty on the play would call the play back - MJ Independent photo

Asked how close the Raiders game had gone to their game plan Johnstone said at times they had burnt the pages.

“I’m not going to lie I did wing a couple of things. There were a couple of last minute changes that I made I’m lucky it worked out for the best.”

A Moose Jaw Raiders player was accidentally stomped on this play - mj independent photo

Johnstone said other Raiders coaches were key to the victory.

“I’m lucky our offensive coordinator made a lot of good plays tonight,” Johnstone said.

A Raiders fan sporting headgear that given a chilly evening likely needs a winterized version - mj independent photo

Although the game saw the Raiders score 23 unanswered points on the 5 - 0 Vikings Johnstone said tha main factor was attitudes.

“Keeping our kids positive. Honestly just trying to keep our kids in the game. That’s our biggest thing right now.”

Asked about the game itself Johnstone said “the first quarter sort of sucked. But we started stepping it up in the second quarter. As soon as it got to that third quarter it was lights out.”

Moose Jaw Raiders quarterback Traeten Potvin (left) holds back Moose Jaw Vikings Teegan Kivol - MJ Independent photo

The Raiders are up for a playoff run which could see them meet the Vikings again but first they need to get past Weyburn.

“We are super stoked about the playoffs. We are ready to correct the mistakes we made against the Weyburn Falcons last time.”

MOOSE JAW RAIDERS QUARTERBACK TRAETEN POTVIN (LEFT) dives for extra yards - MJ i photo

In their regular season matchup the Falcons defeated the Raiders 31 - 21 in Weyburn.

“We are heading to Weyburn next weekend. We are going to fix a bunch of mistakes we made in our game there last time. We’re hopefully coming out on top and rematch the Vikings in the championship.”

Moose Jaw raiders Ciaran McCulloch (center) is tackled by Moose Jaw Vikings Maddox Montgomery - MJ Independent photo

Weather wise Johnstone said the fall weather with its cooler temperatures has had a negligible effect on the Raiders.

“It’s not too bad. We’ve been telling our kids to dress for the weather at practice. That conditioning at every practice really helps them stay warm.”

Touchdown Raiders - MJ Independent photo

Next weekend sees three playoff matchups at Elks Athletic Field.

Game times are 3:30, 5:30 and 7:30.

Please dress warmly.

MOOSE JAW RAIDERS QUARTERBACK TRAETEN POTVIN Is tackled by Draven smith - mj independent photo

We didn’t interview Vikings head coach Colin Belsher to be honest it was a long day and just too cold.