Crusaders coming off a dominating performance against Tommy Douglas last week
As the Carlton Crusaders football program took to the field in Saskatoon last Friday evening for their first game in nearly two years, bench boss Lindsay Strachan and the rest of the Crusaders coaching staff weren’t quite sure what to expect.
When the contest wrapped up, Carlton had opened up their 2021 Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate campaign in impressive fashion as they defeated the Tommy Douglas Tigers by a score of 37-0 at the Saskatoon Minor Football Field.
“We were really pleased with how things went, especially with a group of guys that hadn’t played much high school football before,” Strachan said.
“We were really impressed with the intensity, the mindset and the overall product that we put out on Friday.”
Another aspect of the Crusaders performance that impressed Strachan was the team’s strong start, as their only in-game action of any kind prior to their opener was a controlled scrimmage on Sept. 10 against the St. Mary Marauders at Max Clunie Field.
“We kind of jumped them right out of the gates as we drove down the field and scored right off the bat,” Strachan said. “Our defence came out and took things over on that side of the ball as well.
“You are never really sure what that first moment is going to look like for a young team, but that moment wasn’t bigger than us. We were right where we needed to be.”
Friday’s performance was also a total team effort with several strong showings on both sides of the ball.
“I thought we ran the ball pretty effectively,” Strachan said. “Tazmin Smith-Windsor carried the ball a lot for us early in the game and Gage Prodaehl, who is a receiver for us, gaining quite a few yards on the ground as well.
“Scott Adamko was someone who stood out on defence as he was working from sideline to sideline and making a lot of tackles for us. For the most part though, there were a lot of guys that were executing on offence and defence last Friday, in addition to putting strong performances on special teams.”
The Crusaders haven’t been resting on their laurels, however, as they’ve been busy at practice this week ahead of their home opener on Friday night, as they’ll welcome the 1-0 Bethlehem Stars to Max Clunie Field for a 6:30 p.m. contest.
“We’re certainly happy with where we’re at but we always want to be better,” Strachan said. “We’ve gone over some things in practice to make sure we’re ready to go for Bethlehem, especially as it’s our home opener.
“It’s always a little different when you are playing in front of family and friends, but we’re excited about getting back out there and getting after it once again.”
The 1-0 St. Mary Marauders are also in action on Friday, as they will travel to Saskatoon to face the 0-1 Walter Murray Marauders. That game will get underway at 7:30 p.
