Maruaders #3 Griffin Johns catches wind and runs the ball for a massive St. Mary gain versus Lloydminster on Oct. 13, 2023. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

into the postseason

St. Mary blanks Lloydminster to clinch semi-final playoff berth against Carlton

Oct 13, 2023 | 11:37 PM

It will be an all Prince Albert semi-final matchup in the opening round of the North Saskatchewan Football League (NSFL) playoffs.

Carlton will play host to St. Mary in the #1 vs #4 playoff game with the Crusaders claiming the first seed after the regular season. The Marauders will come into the playoffs having escaped with their lives on Friday night when they hosted Lloydminster.

St. Mary and Lloydminster were at the bottom of the standings entering the game as more was at stake than just the average tally in the win column. The winning team would move onto the playoffs and face Carlton in the semis, while the losing team would clean out their lockers, some for the final time, following the game.

Thankfully, though, the Marauders lived to see another week.

St. Mary managed a pair of field goals in the opening quarter to jump out to an early lead, meanwhile, in the second, Griffin Johns broke into the endzone with a 21-yard run for the games first touchdown to extend the lead. The Marauders would go for two, but failed to convert as the score was 14-0 heading into halftime.

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Following the break, St. Mary continued on the gas while Lloydminster couldn’t find any answers. The Blue and Silver tacked on three more touchdowns in the second half with efforts from Kenneth Gonzalez, Matt Risom, and Caleb Eckert. The trio of scores for the Marauders led to what is their first and most important win of the season, a 31-0 triumph over the Lloydminster Barons.

St. Mary will now move on into the semi-final round of the playoffs, which is against their cross-town rivals, Carlton. The Crusaders, who are undefeated against league opponents, will enter the playoffs as inaugural NSFL regular season champions, capturing the #1-seed.

Carlton also had a dominant final regular season game, winning 44-14 over North Battleford on Thursday.

It was all Crusaders from the word go as Gage Prodaehl got Carlton on the board with a 12-yard run while to kickoff the second, Adam Morrison cashed in for his first of two touchdowns on the night. Not too long after Prodaehl scored again, but this time with a 12-yard catch to make it 21-0 with 3:37 to go in the first half.

Carlton was far from being done in the quarter. As a matter of fact, they went to score three more touchdowns. Zane Litzenberger scored on a 20-yard pass, Morrison converted on a three-yard run, and Nick Workman scooped up a fumble and returned it 38-yards to the house, making it 41-0. Isaac Rugabisha added a field goal in the third quarter to extend the lead to 44-0, while North Battleford finally caught wind in the fourth. Brayden Cherney and Levi Koenig got the two touchdowns for North Battleford, while Max Gubbe kicked both point-afters.

The Carlton-St. Mary semi-final clash will happen at Max Clunie Field on Thursday night. Meanwhile, in the #2-seed and #3-seed game, also on Thursday, North Battleford will play host to Martensville.

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logan.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com