1971 St. Mary Marauders Football – Team
The St. Mary Marauders obliterated the Moose Jaw Peacock Tornadoes 61-27 on their home field at PACI to win the 1971 3A Saskatchewan High School Football Championship.
St. Mary closed out the win with 40 unanswered points. Tom Chad had 22 carries for 264 yards and scored four touchdowns. Mick Jutras had 22 carries for 117 yards and scored one touchdown. The Marauders grounded out 506 yards rushing as a team in the championship game.
The provincial championship was indicative of the Marauders season. The Marauders finished the 1971 season with a record of 10-1-1 and outscored their opponents 415-153.
The Marauders finished second in the Prince Albert High School Football League standings in 1971. In the semifinal, the Marauders downed PACI 56-7 to set up a showdown with their archrivals, the Riverside Rams. Tom Chad scored a touchdown in the final minute of Game 1 to give the Marauders a 14-10 victory. Because Riverside won the regular season title, the Marauders had to win two games to advance to the North East Saskatchewan School’s Athletic Conference Championship. Coming off their first game first game come-from-behind victory, the Marauders destroyed the Rams 27-1 to advance to the provincial northern finals.
The Marauders then stomped on the Melfort Comets in the northern final 39-0 en route to the provincial championship game.
No Prince Albert high school football team has won a provincial championship since.
The Marauders were innovators in high school football at that time. On defense, they switched personnel around to give teams different looks. They allowed defensive captain Archie McKay to call blitzes at any time he liked. The Marauders also studied primitive projector-style game film to gain an upper hand on their opponents. That was in addition to an offensive playbook that contained 200 different plays with multiple formations.
The Marauders coaching staff included head coach Keith Powell, Jim Lyons, Bob Miller, and George Yuzik, the student trainer and manager.
The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame proudly welcomes the 1971 St. Mary Marauders to the Hall.
