The football season officially came to an end in Prince Albert on Thursday when the St. Mary Marauders were defeated 38-8 by the Holy Cross Crusaders in high school playoff action in Saskatoon.
The Marauders were the last local team still alive in post-season action, but that ended with Holy Cross jumping into a 35-0 advantage early in the third quarter and then cruising to the victory.
Bryant Sackney had another big game for the Marauders carrying the ball 26 times for 189 yards while Travis Sjogren had the lone St. Mary major when he ran the ball in from the five-yard line to the Marauders on the scoreboard in the third quarter. George Leberio with the convert and Cody Sjogren with a 43-yard punt single accounted for the remaining St. Mary points.
The Marauders advanced to the post season on the final week of the regular schedule when they outscored the Carlton Crusaders 24-14 in the inaugural Canadian Tire Classic at Max Clunie Field in Prince Albert. Despite having a better record, the 3-4 Crusaders were eliminated from the playoffs by virtue of the 2-5 Marauders winning the head-to-head contest between the Prince Albert rivals.
The season is all over for other local football teams as the Prince Albert Collegiate Institute Golden Bears failed to advance to the playoff round in the Fort Carleton Six-Man Football League after posting a 3-3 record and the River Riders teams are also finished for the year. The pee wee River Riders were 0-8 during their season and took part in a pair of mini-bowl games in Saskatoon last week to conclude the schedule while the bantam River Riders lost 24-0 to Schoenhals Titans in semifinal play a week ago.
