YORKTON — I went all the way to Yorkton to visit Taylor Field.
The connection to the beloved ol’ ballyard was not made until I visited with a long-time friend, Roby Sharpe, at Kinsmen Century Field.
Roby, who is in his 26th season as head coach of the Yorkton Raiders high school team, is also the president of Yorkton Minor Football. It was inevitable, then, that we would cross paths after Regina Minor Football’s bantam Packers — for whom I am the grizzled statistician — arrived in Yorkton for a Saturday afternoon game.
Sure enough, I heard a familiar voice and saw a familiar face while walking lap(s) around the football field, not far away from the sprawling Yorkton Regional High School campus.
I barely recognized the football complex, which I had last visited 13 years earlier.
Sharpe informed me that the seats had once been found in Taylor Field — a.k.a. historic Mosaic Stadium — where the Saskatchewan Roughriders last played on Oct. 29, 2016.
Before the stadium was demolished, usable parts were extracted to benefit sporting groups across the province. Some of the west-side seating, for example, was painstakingly dislodged from the cement base, carried down the ramps, and transported to Yorkton.
Just last year, permanent lighting was installed at Century Field.
Until 2023, the Friday Night Lights games were played under temporary illumination. Five sets of rented portable lights were typically set up on each side of the field and held in place by straw bales. Electrification was provided by generators.
“Sometimes you couldn’t even talk because the noise coming from 10 generators was so loud,” Sharpe said with a laugh.
“It was a huge undertaking. On Wednesday, our automotive teacher would be adjusting the lights, trying to ensure that there weren’t any dark spots, and changing the bulbs.”
Football-wise, Yorkton has come a long way from the pre-permanent-lighting dark ages — a time when minor football did not exist in the community.
Players would routinely be devoid of football experience upon joining the Sharpe-coached Raiders in Grade 9. The learning curve would be especially steep when Yorkton played against Regina Intercollegiate Football League teams that were well-stocked with graduates of the minor ranks.
The levelling of the playing field began when Regina Minor Football executive director Len Antonini made equipment available to the fledgling Yorkton program for the low, low cost of $10 per set.
There was only one snag: Because RMF needed the equipment in the fall, Yorkton would have to play in the spring.
Deal!
Teams from the Yorkton area would begin play in early May and continue well into June. The equipment would be returned to Regina well in advance of the RMF season.
From those humble beginnings, minor football in Yorkton has evolved to the point where every division is represented.
“Everything Regina has, we have,” Sharpe said, proudly.
The remarkable development of Regina’s Leibel Field, which was once little more than a torn-up expanse of grass, can be compared to the ever-evolving facilities at Kinsmen Century Field.
In recent years, state-of-the-art dressing room and washroom facilities have been installed on the east side. Gone are the days when the nearest bathroom could be found a few blocks away, at Super C Esso.
The Kinsmen Club of Yorkton is among the many benefactors. The local business community has made invaluable contributions.
The Roughriders’ logo also appears on and above one dressing-room door, in recognition of a $50,000 donation.
The Roughriders connection was also appreciated in 2007, when then-Head Coach Kent Austin paid a visit to Yorkton for a Football Night in Saskatchewan event that raised $12,000.
“And then,” Sharpe noted, “the Riders won the Grey Cup.”
Having acquired a wealth of background information from Sharpe, who also provided a tour, I found my way to Century Field’s west side as Saturday’s opening kickoff loomed.
As one who owned season tickets in Taylor Field’s upper deck for 35 years, I couldn’t help but wonder: “Did I ever sit in any of these seats?”
My seat was always Section 204, Row 14, Seat 23. I was especially proud of the 23, because of the Ron Lancaster connection, so I made a point of occupying Seat 23 on Saturday.
Then I sat back, on a picture-perfect afternoon, and enjoyed the game.
Yorkton scored quickly, on an interception return by Kolton Yewsuk. The determined runs of Morgan Bishop and Payton Breitkreuz also delighted supporters of the home team.
The Regina delegation appreciated the efforts of Packers performers such as Dominik Bernard (seven catches for 73 yards), Dominic Eisenzimmer (eight tackles), Isaac Hurl (six tackles, two pass knockdowns, 35-yard interception return) and Carter Haroldson (six tackles, including one for a loss).
Following the game, won 40-8 by Yorkton, two Packers players (Kai Short and Logan Ewert) made a point of shaking hands with the officials.
Before too long, the Packers’ players were on the bus and off to the buffet — they had certainly worked up an appetite — before the entire travelling party, aboard an Engelheim charter, headed back to Regina.
Two hours later, the Packers were unpacking in the Southland Mall parking lot.
Each Packers player made a point of thanking the bus driver.
“At the end of the day I think the boys had a great experience,” Packers head coach David Eisenzimmer said as all the equipment bags were being removed from the luggage compartment.
Although the loss was “disappointing,” the result will soon be forgotten.
The fun times — on the field, on the bus and even over dinner — will be a lasting, cherished memory.
“That’s a big part of it,” Eisenzimmer said. “Especially at their age, with boys who are in Grade 9 and Grade 10, it’s all about learning who they are amongst the pack.
“Being on a road trip like this, going out there and playing a sport that they love, they’re kind of learning their spot and how they fit in.
“The game is one thing, but the experience of being with the group and going on a trip with the group is a bonding moment that a lot of them will remember for a long time.”
Especially because road trips are not commonplace for the Packers. Most of their games are played at Leibel Field.
“I’ve coached RMF for a couple of years now and we’d never had a road trip,” Eisenzimmer noted. “This is the first road trip we were able to do.
“I was really excited as a coach to do it, because I thought it was a really unique opportunity for these boys. It’s the one road trip you get to do in this football experience, and I think it stands out as a highlight for these kids.”
It is also a highlight for Eisenzimmer as a coach and a parent.
“As a coach, you savour the experience with the boys and being on the bus with them,” Dominic Eisenzimmer’s proud father said.
“They’re doing their own thing, but they’re also having fun together and enjoying the company of their teammates, and that’s huge.
“My boy is here. I didn’t engage with him a whole bunch, because I knew he was with his buddies and I wanted him to have that experience.
“But I know I’ll be hearing a lot about this day for weeks and months to come.”
The Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation supports minor football through Football Saskatchewan. In 2023, the Roughrider Foundation provided $1.2 million to benefit amateur football throughout the province.
