The Humboldt Collegiate Institute Mohawks tried their hardest in the face of cold weather and a tough opponent, but they eventually lost out on the provincial 9-man football title to the Clavet Cougars with a final score of 19-11 on Nov. 15.
鈥淥verall, I think our team played very well,鈥� said Mohawks head coach, Cory Popoff. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud of how they played.鈥�
Although it was close to -20 C during the game, Popoff said the cold didn鈥檛 really affect their performance any more than he thought it affected Clavet and added they were both on pretty even footing. He said there were no specific standout moments for him as the whole game was played well.
鈥淚t鈥檚 more than a moment; the entire game itself was a highlight for me,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey showed once again that even though they were behind in the third quarter, they never once gave up and kept playing hard and almost were successful.鈥�
The last time the Mohawks competed for the provincial title and won was in 2010 against Delisle.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 anything to be said, our conference and our area has a lot of highly skilled coaches that are able to bring their players up to a high level of proficiency,鈥� Popoff said.
Clavet competed and lost against Lumsden for the provincial title last year.
鈥淐lavet is a well-coached team. They鈥檝e got a lot of good athletes and they played very, very well,鈥� Popoff said. 鈥淭hey certainly were a team to beat in our league and unfortunately we didn鈥檛 quite make the mark.鈥�
Although it was cold and the game was in Clavet, there was no shortage of Humboldt fans out to cheer on the athletes.
鈥淭he cold doesn鈥檛 keep our fans away from football, that鈥檚 what we found,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very thankful and blessed that we had such a strong Humboldt support at this provincial final.鈥�
The supporters included past football players, which Popoff said was great.
Popoff said there are always things the team can improve on for next year, whether it鈥檚 preparing for the season or finding new ways to get the athletes to prepare for competition. Overall, he鈥檚 happy with how things went.
鈥淲e feel that making it to provincials was a reaffirmation of the things that we do in preparation for our football games,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ven the pre-season, how important it is for our athletes to get into the weight room and get stronger and work on their speed. It is a reaffirmation that hard work does pay off.鈥�
