By Joel van der Veen

HANLEY — Three down, one to go.

Following a 60-20 victory over the Winston Wildcats of Watrous, the Hanley Sabers were at the last step of their journey to this year’s provincial finals.

The Nov. 5 game drew a large crowd more than 200 strong to the field at Hanley Composite School, armed with sirens, car horns and other noisemakers.

“It was pretty populated here,” said Sabers coach Mark Anderson. “We’re very thankful for the support we receive from the community.”

The game saw another strong performance from Hanley’s offence, especially the core trio of Colten Olyniuk, Conor Prosofsky and Marshall Prosofsky.

The team’s defensive line also shone on Saturday, including Tyler Halabi and Evan Ashdown, with the latter playing in both directions over the game.

Anderson also lauded D-men Garrett Bursaw and Matthew Fairbairn, who cut their opponents down to size with effective tackling.

The coach observed that the Sabers are typically outranked in terms of size, but make up for it with speed, tenacity and confidence.

“We’re just like a sea of black, showing up at the point of attack,” he quipped.

For the full story and more photos, please see the Nov. 14 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.