The Peacock Tornadoes had opportunities to really put the pressure on the Swift Current Colts, but they weren't able to take advantage.

Swift Current secured a 21-6 win over Peacock on opening day in the Moose Jaw High School Football League on Saturday at Gutheridge Field.

"Just so close, so many close chances," lamented Peacock head coach Bert Redstone after the game. "It's going to be one of those weird games where you look at the stats and think 21-6 is strange, based on the stats, but when you look at the film, you'll see it was just that last little bit."

The Colts were able to control the game from start to finish with a balanced offensive attack and a defence that bent, but wouldn't break against the Tornadoes' rushing attack.

Swift Current receiver Rhett Vavra finished with seven catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

"This win feels great, we beat them last year so this gives us a little more confidence, takes the pressure off a bit," said Vavra. "It was a close game, they had a tough defence and really good offence, so it was really anybody's game at any point."

Swift Current quarterback Austin Beverly-Collins had a strong game, finishing 12-of-14 for 148 yards and two touchdowns while running back Jordan Lamontagne was held to 23 yards on eight carries.

Colts head coach Derek Murdoch said the team really had to battle for the win, "To beat Peacock, they're a good team, we had a lot of respect for them coming in and they played really well, in fact, they probably feel like they left some points on the board," he said.

"I'm happy offensively, we moved the ball and we'll tighten some things up, we're pretty young still on our defence, but I'm pretty happy."

Vavra opened the scoring for Swift Current with a 10-yard touchdown catch late in the first quarter. The score stayed that way for the rest of the first half as the two sides went back-and-forth.

Kyle Krause extended Swift Current’s lead with a two-yard score late in the third quarter and Vavra gave the Colts some much-needed insurance with an 18-yard TD grab with 3:19 to play in the fourth to make it 21-0.

Peacock pushed for a late comeback with Drake Luebke hauling in a ten-yard touchdown to get the Tornadoes on the board. They tried for an onside kick, but Swift Current recovered and closed out the game.

The Tornadoes' ground attack was huge in the game as running back Kayde Shymko rushed for 174 yards on 22 carries, while quarterback Dallas Lister finished with 112 yards on 20 carries. Lister was 3-of-12 passing for 21 yards.

Peacock running back Kayde Shymko fights for extra yards during Saturday's 21-6 loss to Swift Current at Gutheridge Field. (Photo: Marc Smith)

 

Redstone feels this is the starting point for Peacock and he's confident that they will grow moving forward, "You could see in this game, the confidence growing," he said. "The players will fill into those spots really, really well and when we get some film, we can look at some things and correct things."

The Tornadoes will return to the field on Friday to host the Estevan Elecs, who had a bye in Week 1, while Swift Current hits the field on Thursday to host the Vanier Vikings under the lights.