By JIM BENDER, SUN MEDIA - Oct. 16, 2008
It could have had all the drama of an OK-corral gunfight.
Instead, the race for first place between two second-year squads will come down to points totals on the final week of the Winnipeg High School Football League's regular season.
Both the Murdoch MacKay Clansmen and the Portage Trojans are tied atop the Andy Currie Division with unblemished 6-0 records. And, thanks to a quirk in the schedule, they will not play each other during the regular season.
BACKBONE
That means, if both win their last game, the tie will be broken by total points for and against. The Clansmen have the edge as they are going into tonight's game against the Sisler Spartans 2 at Canad Inns Stadium (5:15 p.m.) with 158 points for and a stingy 28 against.
"We've got one of the best defences in the league," Clansmen head coach Ron Bresch boasted yesterday.
"Unfortunately, a couple of the touchdowns scored against us came on (kick) returns. Elmwood was actually the only team that legitimately scored a touchdown on us by driving the ball down the field. So, even 28 is deceiving."
The backbone of that defence is Murdoch MacKay's linebackers.
"Our middle linebacker, Mike Hauptcorn, should be leading the league in tackles, although I haven't seen the latest stats yet," Bresch said. "This kid is going to go somewhere. I've already gotten calls (from college recruiters) about him.
"Then, our outside linebacker, Devon Hudson, really came on this year after realizing he wasn't going to go to the NHL. This year, he has already broken the league record in sacks with 10 (old record was 7.5) and he had five sacks in one game (also a WHSFL record). And if they go the other way, they'll find outside linebacker Cody Kantyluk, who led the league in tackles last year."
However, the Clansmen still need to beat Sisler to secure top spot.
"The boys remember Sisler lifting the trophy last year," said Bresch, whose squad lost that final to the Spartans. "It's burned into their minds."
But don't count Portage out. The Trojans head into tomorrow's game against the Elmwood Giants in Portage la Prairie (3 p.m.) with 167 points for (second in the division) and 72 against (also second).
But the Trojans would need some sort of wipeout to catch the Clansmen if they win tonight's contest.
"I'd sure like to play them (Clansmen)," Trojans head coach Brent Irwin said from Portage. "We'll certainly have our No. 1 offence and our No. 1 defence on the field for the whole game (tomorrow). We played a lot of our second-stringers this year, which may have hurts us with the points."
While defence may be Murdoch MacKay's strength, offence is Portage's strong suit.
"Our running game is very strong with Devon Kozar and Luke Leoptky," Irwin said. "Kozar has already rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season. We spread out our offence last week.
Our three running backs -- with Justin Kilcollins -- had more than 200 yards between them.
"And our passing game was solid, too. Kozar had six catches for 98 yards."
In the other divisions, both St. Paul's 1 and Sturgeon Heights have locked up top spot.
FINALS BUMPED?: With the impending CFL playoff game to be hosted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Nov. 8, the WHSFL will likely move the final in all three divisions to Monday, Nov. 10.