 Top News - Sports - May 7, 2008 |
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KEVIN HILL/St. Albert Gazette
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GANG TACKLE
Mitch Rasmussen (top), Justin Hardy (bottom) and Kris Vaillancourt of the St. Albert Storm tier I senior team gang tackle the Edmonton Chargers’ ball carrier in Sunday’s tier II semifinal. |
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| Storm blown away |
By Jeff Hansen
Staff Writer
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Foote Field — A winless record this year blew the St. Albert Storm off the football field.
The 34-20 drubbing by the Edmonton Chargers in Sunday’s playoff wrapped up the first losing record in the tier I team’s three-year existence in the Capital District Minor Football Association’s midget spring league.
"We went from being a finalist to a semifinalist to not winning a game," head coach Larry Tibble said after the Storm’s fifth and worst loss this season. "I don’t like losing. I’m not a big fan of it but I don’t see our team as losers. The most important thing is the developmental aspect, because all of these kids are going to go on and play somewhere and continue their careers."
It’s the first year the St. Albert Minor Football Association entered two teams in a league for players in Grades 9, 10 and 11. Teams were allowed a maximum of 25 Grade 11s.
"The real bright side of this whole thing is that our second team had a huge opportunity as young players to develop. It’s kind of an unintended outcome but we probably left ourselves a little short at the tier I level to be able to compete at that level," Tibble said. "Having said that, all of our games were close. They were competitive with everybody, we just didn’t get it done."
A 28-man tier I roster was hampered by injuries, forcing the Storm to forfeit the last game before the playoffs to the undefeated Parkland Outlaws, the 2007 tier I champions.
Last year’s tier I team carried 41 players.
"Injuries weren’t a big part of it today. Depth was. We don’t have a whole lot of players obviously, so our kids get pretty tired and worn down," Tibble said. "It’s the first time we had a healthy line-up except our kicker [JC Niclaes] showed up with a swollen foot."
As the fifth and last place team in tier I the Storm was relegated into the tier II playoff bracket.
"We thought we could’ve done better," said Brad Quartel, a Grade 10 slotback, who ran back a kick off 105 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.
"We came in with pretty high hopes that we were going to stay at the top of tier I. When we fell down to tier II I think some of the kids kind of thought this would be a little bit of an easier ride and it wasn’t. They took it to us today."
The 14-point margin of defeat flattered the Storm. St. Albert was soundly beaten by the second-ranked tier II team with four wins in five games.
"The Chargers are a very good football team. I didn’t see any holes in their team really," Tibble said. "They wore us down. They had good size. They had good skill. They were well prepared and really well coached. They just did a nice job of winning the football game."
The Storm struggled against a power ground game of sweeps, counters and quick hitters up the gut.
"Their running backs move the ball very well. They have good schemes," Tibble said. "They took advantage of probably a smaller defensive line and a less experienced group."
A balanced, well-executed rushing attack racked up the first downs as the clocked ticked down on St. Albert’s season.
"They had so many guys you didn’t know which one to key on," Tibble said. "On the opposite side of that they did a nice job of taking away some stuff we wanted to do."
The Storm trailed by seven at halftime and 14 after three quarters.
"Our offence did good in the first half but in the second half we kind of let up a bit," Quartel said. "The whole game we tried hard, we just couldn’t finish off the chances and the defence just couldn’t stop the running game."
Brett Fabian’s fumble at the Chargers’ 46 on the Storm’s first offensive series led to a 54-yard touchdown pass by the Chargers. A wide-open receiver behind coverage grabbed the ball around the 35 and bolted into the endzone.
The Storm’s third time on offence saw Quartel gallop 38 yards to the Chargers’ 10. On third down and goal from the nine, quarterback Cole Kryton scooped up a low snap while in shotgun formation and scampered around the left side for the score.
After returning the kick off to the Storm 50, the Chargers ran the ball for big yards. The drive ended with a one-yard TD 56 seconds into the second quarter.
On the ensuing kick off, Quartel bobbled the ball before picking his way through the first wave of tacklers. A crunching block in front of the Storm bench sprung him loose for the major.
"It wasn’t pretty. The ball slipped through my hands off the facemask so I ran and got it," he said. "The guys did a great job blocking for me. All I had to do was run it straight up the sidelines and, once I saw the endzone, I just kicked it into a fast gear and ran it in."
The Sturgeon county resident and Edmonton Christian High School student played his Grade 10 season with the Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds, the Edmonton public league champions and tier I provincial north finalists. The bantam 49ers product worked his way into the starting line-up by the end of the year and finished with two TDs.
After his touchdown the Chargers marched the ball 71 yards against a reeling Storm defence. A three-yard TD made it 20-13.
The first half ended with a goal line stand by the Storm.
In the third quarter the Chargers extended their lead with a 30-yard TD on a swing pass.
With 1:20 to play Kryton hooked up with wideout Aaron Watkins on a 55-yard sideline bomb for six points.
After the Chargers recovered the short kick off they quickly put the game away with a 46-yard TD run with 49 seconds to play.
"We just couldn’t come up with the plays when we needed them," said Quartel, 16, a favourite target of Kryton’s for multiple catches.
After the last Chargers’ TD, Tibble walked to the garbage can in front of the stands and tossed in his crumbled play sheet. It was his last game as the Storm’s field general.
"Over the last three years it’s been a real pleasure to work with these great kids and coaches. They are superb," said Tibble, a former quarterback who won a Canadian championship with the Alberta Golden Bears and was the Alberta junior football MVP with the Edmonton Huskies. |
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