Whiskey Jacks rout Gophers

Lucas Punkari/Daily Herald Keith Jacobson raced his way up the field for the Prince Albert Whiskey Jacks while his teammate Tristan Franc watched on as they took on the Saskatoon Gophers in a game last month at Max Clunie Field.

The Prince Albert Whiskey Jacks turned in one of their most complete performances of the season to date Wednesday night.

Coming off of a narrow loss to the Saskatoon Wild Oats at home last week, the Whiskey Jacks cruised to a 57-10 win over the host Saskatoon Gophers to improve their record to 4-3.

“We played aggressive on defence and that allowed us to have a fantastic performance on that side of the ball,” Whiskey Jacks forward Darcy Murphy said. “We played a complete team defence as we all leaned on one another to making a defensive wall that was hard for them to penetrate.

“Our offensive flair was outstanding as well. We weren’t giving up the ball like we had a few times this year and we played a full game. We didn’t let up at all.”

The total team effort also led to a number of great individual showings for the Whiskey Jacks at both ends of the field.

“I think Drew Thomas made 30 to 35 tackles alone and Graham Peterson was moving the ball forward up front,” Murphy said.

“Pealsio Vereakula and Tuks Ratuki were creating chances as they usually do, and then we had Colm Cournane giving a great ball at scrum half all game long.”

The Whiskey Jacks are looking to continue their winning ways at Max Clunie Field Saturday at 2 p.m. against the Regina Highlanders, who they have defeated twice already this season.

“We’re expecting a much tougher side compared to our last two games against them as they should have a full lineup coming to Prince Albert,” Murphy said. “They also have more games under their belts now, so it should be a really competitive game.

“They’ll be looking to get some revenge on us after those losses against us and we’re not going to take them lightly. Both of us are looking to make it to the provincial final for the Division II ranks, so we should both be pretty fired up when the game gets underway.”

The Whiskey Jacks will then go on the road on Wednesday to face the Saskatoon Badgers, before hosting the Saskatoon Krems at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 16 in their regular season finale.

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