By WAYNE SHIELS
There was a bite in the air for the 4A 9-Aside Provincial Quarter Final game in Delisle on Saturday, October 26.
The undefeated Delisle Rebels were able to come away with a hard fought 29-25 win over the Shaunavon Shadows. It was a meeting of two talented football programs and the players left it all on the field in a very intense battle.
The visitors got on the board first, marching downfield on a series of runs aided by multiple offside penalties by Delisle’s defence. Quarterback Kaleb Little capped the drive off with a short run. The convert attempt was blocked.
The start of the second quarter saw Delisle quarterback Sam Kielo hit Nick Sundquist for a short touchdown pass and then give his team the lead by kicking the convert through the uprights.
Shaunavon chewed up yards on runs by Cash Lewans and Kaleb Little, getting deep into the Rebels end. Delisle’s defence stiffened, forcing a turnover on downs at the 15 yard line.

Delisle defenders team up to bring down Shadows star running back Cash Lewans (Gazette photo by Wayne Shiels)
Delisle was unable to advance and on third down the Rebels were forced to punt. Shadows defensive lineman Keagan Richards broke through the line, blocking the punt and falling on the ball in the end zone for the Shadows’ second touchdown. A bad snap resulted in a failed convert attempt.
The Shadows increased their lead on a touchdown pass from Kaleb Little to Treyson Tetrault. Delisle responded with another touchdown pass to Nick Sundquist. Their convert attempt was blocked but they were given another chance on a Shadows offside penalty. Kielo executed a successful quarterback keeper for two points making the score 19-15 for the visitors.
A touchdown pass to Grayson Arendt had the visitors leading 25-15.
To the delight of the home crowd the Rebels were not going to be denied. Running back Luke Gessell started the comeback, capping off a drive with a three yard touchdown run.
A quarterback sack by Jacob Shekk forced a turnover on downs, giving Delisle possession at midfield. Gessell moved the ball upfield on a series of runs, eventually breaking free on a 30 yard touchdown scamper. With a successful convert the Rebels had a 29-25 lead with 2:25 left in the game.
It was the defence’s turn for the dramatic. Holden Clark hauled in an interception and ran the ball to the endzone. Delisle was flagged with a holding call at the 22 yard line, negating the scoring run but giving them possession of the ball, which allowed them to take time off the clock. Shaunavon did get the ball on their five yard line with seconds left.

Delisle’s Sam Kielo goes high to break up a passing attempt in the final seconds of the game (Gazette photo by Wayne Shiel
But there was too little time for a comeback, with Delisle shutting down their desperate throwing attempts to seal the deal.
Delisle head coach Anthony Dudar had high praise for the resilience of his players.
“Our seniors gutted it out. They battled through injuries. Luke Gessell was injured playing with Team Saskatchewan in the summer and fought all season. Holden Clark was hurt earlier in the game and came up with the interception at the end of the game,” he said.
While happy with the win the team had taken a number of penalties.
“We need to learn from this experience and be more disciplined if we want to advance,” he added.
Delisle will host Tisdale on Saturday, November 2 while Melfort hosts Lumsden in the other 4A 9-Aside semi-final game.
In other games Martensville battled hard in a 40-22 loss to PA Carlton in the North Saskatchewan League championship game.
2A 6-Aside action saw Clavet defeat Wynyard 60-21. They will travel to Rosetown for their semi-final game on Saturday, November 2. Wakaw prevailed in a close 66-53 win over Unity. They will host Southey in their semi-final game.