The Carlton Crusaders led early and never looked back as they defeated the St. Mary Marauders 48-0 in the Car Guys Classic in Birch Hills on Friday afternoon.
Carlton head coach Lindsay Strachan says he was pleased with how the Crusaders came out of the gate.
“I just thought we had a good start and really carried that all the way through. Intensity was good and guys were doing their jobs and doing it with energy and passion, which is what we talked about coming in. The execution was good today.”
With the win, Carlton improves to 3-0 in the North Saskatchewan Football League (NSFL) play. Carlton has not lost a game since dropping an exhibition contest against Saskatoon Holy Cross 38-0 back on September 6.
Strachan says the game against Holy Cross has been beneficial for Carlton as it showed the Crusaders what it takes to win.
“I think we found out real early what it takes to be a good football team and we’re starting to find our identity a little bit, which I’m not sure that we had early in the year, but we’re getting there.”
Carlton is on the road next week when they take on Lloydminster.
For St. Mary, the loss drops the Marauders to 0-2 in the NSFL standings. Head coach Curt Hundeby says he thought his team took some steps back after what they’ve shown so far this season.
“We need to learn how to play more physical. They were tougher than we were offensively, defensively and on special teams. We need to learn how to play tougher. It’s as simple as that. I thought we took some steps forward last week. I’m not sure if we did this week. I think we started to sulk and hang our heads a little too quickly, and it’s tough to play physical football that way.”
Hundeby adds that the Marauders will have to clear the game from their memory quickly and focus on improving.
“We have to improve. We have to play faster, we have to play sharper and we have to practice tougher and that’s the only way to get better. If we aren’t willing to do that then we won’t get better. To improve we got to do that because Martensville is not any easier of a task.”
St. Mary returns to action on Friday night in Martensville.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
