Cyclones Take Season Opener

Central 38 - Yorkton 0

The reigning 12 a-side provincial football champions, the Central Cyclones, got off to a good start as they opened the 2026 season with a 38 - 0 against the visiting Yorkton Raiders on Friday evening.

Played at Elks’ Athletic Field the game marked the shift from Saturday afternoons at Gutheridge Field to Friday Nights Under The Lights format enacted for this season.

The game saw some spectacular plays by the Cyclones and despite the lopsided score the Raiders defence at times shone with brilliance.

Despite the seemingly easy victory Central Cyclones head coach Colin Belsher said the team was not taking the Yorkton Raiders for granted as “they have good” talent and can surprise you.

A major play and momentum grabber in the game for the Cyclones was a seemingly impossible one handed catch by receiver Dylan Ward in the First Quarter.

“He’s a pretty special receiver and (quarterback) Hudson (Belsher) put it right on him,” Belsher said about it.

“It’s funny he makes those incredible catches and then the one he is going to remember is the one he dropped along the side line at the beginning…it just shows you the little things are going to bug you not the great things you do.”

The one handed catch grabbed momentum for the Cyclones and starved the Raiders.

“That’s the thing you make one big catch or you make a big play on defence or offence and momentum just swings your way.”

Belsher said the return of his son as quarterback is a good thing as “last year he took us right to the end and we’ve got some solid receivers so I can see good things for this season.”

Despite the carryover from last year’s provincial championship team Belsher remains cautious.

He said he told the team “last season was last season” while pointing out they can’t rest on their laurels. There is also work that needs to be done.

“My message to the team just before the game was last year is year. Last year was an amazing year and an amazing run but…we need to take it one game at a time and we need to focus. We have our goals,” Belsher said.

He said the game went well for the Cyclones.

“I thought we threw the ball really well. When we had our opportunities on defence we were solid. Special teams were pretty good too.”

Despite the shoutout the Yorkton Raiders showed heart when they were down heading into the fourth quarter they were asked if they wanted straight instead of stop time.

“We don’t want that,” the Raiders coaching staff almost immediately responded.

Going to straight time would’ve speed it up the game and allowed Weyburn to get out of the game sooner that they were losing. The Raiders chose to battle through the game straight to the end.

Late in the game, the Raiders threatened the Cyclones deep in Central’s end.

“I like Yorkton. They always bring good players. They are extremely well coached,” Belsher said.

For the Cyclones Belsher said he would like to see more discipline. The team took some seemingly unnecessary penalties including a face masking.