#CFC50 Showdown between LeBoldus and Campbell

Who is ready for a battle?

The high school football season is upon us and fans could not have asked for a better week one matchup than the #CFC50 No. 4 LeBoldus Golden Suns taking on the #CFC50 No. 18 Campbell Tartans on Wednesday, September 7th.

Both teams represent the cream of the crop in the RIFL’s Schwann Conference with No. 18 Campbell currently playing a bit of catch up as No. 4 LeBoldus looks to secure their fifth straight provincial title. The two schools met twice on the field last season including in the RIFL championship game where the Golden Suns capped off a perfect season defeating Campbell 45-23 at Mosaic Stadium.

The positive for Campbell, however, is that last year’s results are ancient history and with a new season set to begin, Campbell’s Head Coach Ryan Hall says he wants his team to attack this game as if they had no idea who their opponents are.

“This is the first game of the season, so our focus is always on our own execution, regardless of who we are playing. Rankings of our team or any other team mean nothing right now, they are a subjective number, and we are just trying to improve our own performance. Obviously, playing a perennially strong team like LeBoldus to start the season is a big challenge, but we anticipate that the game will give us a good starting point for a full season of hard work and improvement.”

On the other side of the field, LeBoldus’ Head Coach, John Foord, has developed the same type of ideology for his players. The opening game of any season can be unpredictable, so Foord hopes that his boys are able to take care of what they can control and allow the chips to fall where they may when the final whistle blows.

“We will approach this game the exact same way we approach every game and that is by being as focused and prepared as possible to play whoever we face. The rankings from the end of last season have no relevance here because it was based on 2015 teams and season. It is a new year and what we do know is that Campbell has always been a strong team and will be a tough test every time we play.”

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The keys to a Campbell upset will be finding a way to shut down two of the best running backs in the country #CFC100 Nick Cross and #CFC100 Semba Mbsela, who both create massive issues with their speed and agility out of the backfield. The Suns’ like to deploy a balanced offence putting a lot of faith in their young quarterback Josh Donnelly, but if they are forced into being one-dimensional it could create a recipe for success for Campbell. Defensive standout for the Tartans, Davis Kalesnikoff, says he is looking forward to getting after their ball carriers, and knows that all twelve men on the field need to feel the same way in order to be successful.

“Our team’s mindset is that everything matters and to do the little things right. We need to play hard and give 100% every play because LeBoldus isn’t going to roll over, we need to be sharp. It is a big game but when it comes game time, it’s 12 on 12 and the winner will be the ones that win their 1 on 1 battles.”

While Foord isn’t going to reveal the Suns’ game plan prior to kickoff, his keys to victory include getting back to the basics with sound fundamental football, and keeping the Tartans on their toes all night with a relentless attack on both sides of the ball.

“We will expect our team to play united together and execute their assignments at a very high level. Our game plan versus Campbell will be revealed on game day, but we will be aggressive on both sides of the ball and execute to the best of our ability.”

It’s too early in the season to get a full grasp on how big of a game this may turn out to be for each school, but for the time being this is the most important game of the season for anybody involved. While it wouldn’t be a complete shock if Campbell were able to break through and defeat the four time defending provincial champions, still we expect Leboldus to come out on top in what could turn out to be an early preview for the RIFL championship game once again.

The action kicks off at 5:15CT at Leibel Field in Regina.

Photo Credits: Leader Post

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