JV Plainsmen keep playoff hopes alive

Motivation isn’t very hard to come by when it’s a do-or-die game.

That mindset is exactly what the Crocus Plainsmen (3-2) carried into their matchup against the Sturgeon Heights Huskies (0-5), as their playoff hopes would have vanished right in front of their eyes with a loss. That possibility was quickly put to bed, though, as the Plainsmen practically ran the Huskies off the field with a dominant 40-6 win during Winnipeg High School Football League junior varsity action at Crocus on Wednesday.

“It’s a great team win for us,” said head coach Mason Kaluzniak post-game. “Anytime you get a win in this league, it’s a big deal, and I thought offensively we were good, defensively we were good, and our special teams were great. We just played really well in all three phases.”

The Plainsmen couldn’t have had a more picture-perfect start after running back Gage Emberly got things rolling with a 30-yard run into the house. Crocus followed that play up with a two-point conversion after quarterback Jake Cory handed it off to Emberly again to secure the extra points.

That was just the beginning of a commanding first quarter, as Emberly racked up another six points on Crocus’ following drive with some impressive tackle breaks en route to the end zone. The Plainsmen secured a two-point safety after hemming the Huskies deep into their side of the field a few plays later, and then wide receiver Kayven Brown tallied his first touchdown of the game with a 20-yard reception into the house.

Crocus went back to its reliable two-point convert play, which is just to give the ball to Emberly and let him do the rest, and that proved to be successful once again — giving Crocus a ridiculous 24-0 lead before the start of the second quarter. The Plainsmen got all the way to the house following a 75-yard kick return to start the second half of play, and then Anthony Smyth ran in for the two extra points to push their lead to 32-0.

Sturgeon responded with a touchdown a few drives later, but that’s the most damage it would do, as Crocus shut it down before Brown added his second receiving touchdown of the game from 25 yards out, followed by another two-point conversion by Emberly.

Crocus racking up 40 points was a complete turnaround from its low-scoring affair against the Grant Park Pirates (4-1) last week, when the Plainsmen fell 10-6 in Winnipeg. Kaluzniak believes last week’s loss was more a result of shooting themselves in the foot.

“We struggled to do the simple things last week,” he said. “We made mistakes on the snap, had a ton of offensive penalties, offsides, holding calls, and just a ton of things that really got in our own way because we were just doing the simple things wrong. So that was the point of emphasis all week at practice.”

That practice, combined with that all-or-nothing belief, clearly paid off, but Crocus knows it still has unfinished business to attend to. After Wednesday’s win, the Plainsmen still have the postseason in sight, however, in order to confirm their spot, they will need to rally for another win next week against the John Taylor Pipers (3-1) in Winnipeg.

“If we want to make the championship, we’ve got to win our next one,” said Brown, who recorded two touchdowns and more than 65 receiving yards in Crocus’ win against Sturgeon.

“It’s definitely more motivation for our next game, so we’ll be ready.”

His teammate, Emberly, shared the same attitude.

“It’s probably the most meaningful game,” he added. “We’ll celebrate now, and then we have to lock in for John Taylor and play as hard as we can.”

Emberly, who racked up close to 90 rushing yards on Wednesday, knows what’s at stake but said the pressure won’t be getting to him. He’s just focused on the task at hand, one play at a time.

“Pressure or no pressure, I don’t think it’ll be much different,” said Emberly. “I just play my game, which is playing as hard as I can. I know our team has what it takes to beat them (John Taylor), we just have to execute.”

The Pipers defeated the Huskies 56-19 during their Week 1 matchup, and their only loss of the season has come at the hands of the Miles Macdonell Buckeyes, who defeated them by a 36-20 score. Kaluzniak knows his team is going to have to reach another level if they want to end up on the right side of things next week but said they are more than capable of doing so.

“I told our team this in the locker room afterwards, but I believe we do have another level, so we’re going to get back to work, and we’re going to get ready for next week,” he said.

“I just told them simply, ‘This is an opportunity for you guys to commit. Do you guys want to be a playoff team, or are we happy being 3-3? That’s really our mindset, and I think it’s a great thing for the kids because it helps them refocus and push us to get into our final form.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com