The 2012 Regina Minor Football season was really a two part story for the YRHS Jr. Raiders. The first part was one of defeat and learning experience as four straight losses, the last two coming down to the games final drives, place the Raiders at 0-4 and in serious peril of missing the playoffs. Part two however was one of growth and confidence as the team rallied and has finished the season with four straight wins to bump their record the .500 at 4-4 putting them in the middle of the pack with a real chance to make some noise in the RMF playoffs.
Saturday afternoon was the final step in the Raiders regular season turnaround as they needed a win over the Regina Dinos to improve their playoff standing and avoid playing the one or two seeds in the quarterfinals. The Raiders answered the bell, dominating play from start to finish in a 41-24 victory that was capped off with an interception for a touchdown on the games final play to further help the Raiders tiebreakers for final seeding.
Final playoff standings won’t be known until Thursday with two games left on the RMF schedule on Wednesday night, but head coach Mike Jarvis has the goal and expectation that the Raiders will finish in the middle of the playoff pack and win their quarterfinal matchup wherever they play. As is the norm in the RMF, no matter where the YRHS finishes they will have to travel on the road to play their playoff games in Regina due to the league rules that saw the YRHS senior team jump ship to the Moose Jaw league.
Coach Jarvis was happy with his teams effort in the second half of the season and said, “The biggest change from the first four games of the season was confidence and gelling together as a team.” Going into the playoffs Jarvis expects that his teams power running mantra that they have been using on offense all season will pay dividends as temperatures drop and winds pick up, making the running game even more of a focal point.
With their 4-4 finish this Raiders squad is the best ever RMF team since joining the 12 man league and has high expectations heading into the postseason and coach Jarvis expects at least a quarterfinal win and feels that he has a team that can potentially take it all the way with a few bounces and a lot of hard work. Just one month ago the Raiders were looking for their first win, now heading into the playoffs, they have championship dreams, not wins, on their mind.
