The rematch between the St. Albert 49ers and Wetaskiwin Warriors is Sunday’s bantam Tier 3 semifinal in the Capital District Minor Football Association.
Kickoff is 3 p.m. at Fuhr Sports Park in Spruce Grove and admission is $5.
Last weekend with second place at stake in the Tier 3/4 standings the 49ers survived a comeback charge by the Warriors to win 21-14 at Riel Recreation Park. After three quarter it was 21-7.
“It shouldn’t have been that close,” said Andrew Nielson, a Grade 8 slotback and backup quarterback. “We did really good at the start. They barely got any yards and then we kind of lost it. At the end we just didn’t do as good. We kind of gave up.”
The 49ers are 6-1 after their closest margin of victory and the Warriors are 5-2.
Grade 9 quarterback Connor Guy is expecting another tight tilt.
“They match up with our players very well. We’ve just got to beat them all around,” said the third-year 49er who scrambled for three touchdowns in the win. “They’re big but we have faster players than they do. They know how to tackle and we just have to get lower than them and just outrun them.”
The winner will play the St. Albert Fury (7-0) or the Fort Saskatchewan Lightning (4-3) in the Tier 3 final next Sunday.
“We can probably do it if we play our hardest,” said Nielson, who had two lengthy first down receptions against the Warriors. “Our defence has been stopping teams a lot and on offence we’re doing a lot of passing and we’re catching a lot of balls.”
In Week 2, the Fury flattened the 49ers 56-21.
Nielson, 13, is pulling for a St. Albert playoff showdown.
“We want to have another game against them,” said the William D. Cuts student. “We thought we could do it that game and we lost pretty bad.”
The 49ers rattled off five straight victories after succumbing to last year’s Tier I finalist and provincial semifinalist.
“I would love to play the Fury again,” Guy said. “They’re a strong match-up for us.”
Guy, 14, is the only 49er remaining from the 2012 Tier 3 championship team and north provincial finalists when he lined up as a receiver. He is among 14 returnees from last year’s 5-2 squad.
“I’m very proud to be on this team with this group of guys,” said the Lorne Akins student. “We’ve grown as a team a lot during the season. I don’t think I’ve ever been with a group of guys that have grown together as much as this team has.”
The 49ers averaged 35.7 points per game and 20.5 against in league play.
“We know what to do when it comes to key points in the game and once we get momentum we can be very strong,” said Guy, who will play high school football for the Paul Kane Blues next year. “I believe we’re going to do pretty good going forward here.”
