Despite a strong effort, the HCI Mohawks football team saw their season come to a close on Saturday, falling 26-14 to Kindersley in the provincial semifinal.

"Offensive turnovers seemed to have kept our offence off the field for quite some time. We had trouble sustaining drives, and our defence was not left with favourable field position," explained Head Coach Cory Popoff.

"Our defence also made a few key errors that allowed Kindersley to capitalize on great field position."

Both teams were dealt a tough hand with field conditions, which seemed to show in the first quarter, as the defences stood tall, pitching shutouts on both sides through the opening 12 minutes.

In the second quarter, the Kobras got on the board first knocking through a 20 yard field goal.

They would extend their lead to 10-0 shortly after on the game's first touchdown.

Offensively, the Mohawks found a spark late in the second quarter, when running back Dawson Hering found a gap in the Kobras defence and got away for a 52 yard touchdown run.

Humboldt's momentum was short lived however, as the Kobras crept back to a 10 point lead on a touchdown with five seconds left in the half.

Following a scoreless third quarter, Kindersley widened their lead to 24-7 early in the fourth, giving the Mohawks a tough, slippery hill to climb.

The Mohawks showed their fight on the very next play, returning the kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. Dakota Smith handed the ball off to Hering on a reverse and he was able to find enough space down the sideline to bring Humboldt back within 10 points.

After the defence forced a turnover on the next Kindersley possession, the Mohawks couldn't capitalize on the short field, which ultimately set the tone for the final eight minutes, allowing Kindersley to escape with the win.

Popoff noted that the team's ability to stay in games, no matter the score was a learning point throughout the season.

"Our team has learned a great deal about how to be resilient over the course of the season. Adversity was no stranger to us throughout the season," he noted. "It warmed my heart to see our players persevere in games, and rally around each other to find ways to compete in tough games."

Kindersley will travel to Lumsden for the 3A 9-man provincial championship on Saturday, while the Mohawks, with only four graduating players, will be looking to build on a final four finish for next season.

"We certainly have the potential for an outstanding season in 2018. Our returning players earned valuable game experience this year, and that will pay dividends right from the start of next season," said Popoff. "A major factor of success will be our players' commitment to strength, speed, and skill development in the offseason."

Popoff thanked the three graduating players - Cole Grace, Dalton Kennedy, and Okechukwu Okeay, and also noted that another player couldn't play due to injury this year, but helped in any way he could.

"The contributions made to our program by Brody Hinz were fantastic," he said. "An injury prevented Brody from playing football this year, however, that did not deter him, and he did a great job as our main equipment manager this year."