It was a weekend of celebration for football fans across the province, as players and fans flocked to Mosaic Stadium to take in a trio of games across three different leagues.
The province’s top five football teams all hit the field for the inaugural Football Weekend in Saskatchewan as the CFL, CJFL and U Sports all took part in the event.
“Saskatchewan’s a proud province and it’s well known for football,” said the Saskatoon Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant. “To bring all the teams together to one venue is pretty cool, and there’s not a better venue in Canada than right here, so it feels special to be a part of it.”
And while it was a good weekend of football, the home teams had a difficult time pulling out a win.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders kicked things off Friday night, when they welcomed nearly 27,000 fans to the stands. And while the Riders lost 26-24 to the Edmonton Elks, the Friday night lights were just the start to the weekend.
The Regina Thunder took on the Saskatoon Hilltops Saturday afternoon the second game of the football filled weekend.
More than 2,000 fans were present for the Thunder’s 23-7 victory over their provincial rivals for the second time in two weeks. Regina Thunder head coach Scott MacAulay said it was great weekend for players and fans from Saskatchewan.
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“I think it’s outstanding. A lot of these guys are from smaller towns within the province and coming together and competing together on the main stage is great,” MacAulay said.
“I think now kids realize that there’s a good option to stay at home; they don’t have to move away to play football. They can play in front of a great crowd, really competitive games and make a name for themselves just by staying at home.”
In the final game of the weekend, the Regina Rams took on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the U Prairie challenge.
The Rams started strong, scoring a touchdown in the first 16 seconds of the game, but fell to the Huskies late as they hit a 32-yard field goal with two seconds left in the fourth quarter. The final score was 11-10.
A total of 7055 fans were in attendance at the Rams game, capping off Football Weekend in Saskatchewan.
It was an event that served as notice to the popularity and love of football in Saskatchewan.
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