The Paul Kane Blues are the real deal as contenders instead of pretenders in Carr division one football.
The Miles division two champions the last two years in the metro Edmonton league are 2-1 in the Carr but could easily be undefeated if not for a pick-six with only seconds remaining and the Blues driving the field down by three against the perennial champion Bev Facey Falcons (3-0) last week.
“We came awfully close to being 3-0. There is no doubt about that,” said head coach Rob Strecker after the Blues breezed past the winless Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds 44-7 Thursday at Riel Recreation Park. “To be 2-1 after the first three games, especially knowing that we have Facey and Spruce Grove off the get-go, I’m happy with where we’re at.”
The 50-40 thriller showed the Blues, ranked second in Tier II (750 to 1,249 students) can hang with the Tier I (1,250-plus students) big boys in the Carr.
“I was very happy with the way we played against Facey. It showed that we can play with those guys so if we ever had the opportunity to play them down the road our guys aren’t going to be worried,” Strecker said. “We battled with those guys.”
The Blues are playing like a team on a mission after going 18-2 overall the last two years and both losses were in the Tier II north playoffs.
“Everyone in Carr thought we couldn’t come to play but I guess we’re showing they’re wrong,” said Grade 12 lineman Zach Dreger. “Considering that we were suppose to lose every game and get beat out something like 50-0 everyone is pretty pumped and to lose by 10 points to the best team, it was only an interception the last seconds, but other than that we did pretty good. They haven’t had a game like that in three years.”
Quarter scores in the back-and forth marathon were 14-8 Facey after the first, 24-23 Blues at the half and 36-32 Facey after the third.
“We got one hundred and some yards in penalties and a couple of touchdowns called back. We had a few problems throughout our plays but if we came together and did what we did in the first week (34-13 over the Spruce Grove Panthers) we probably would’ve won but Facey was a pretty good though,” Dreger said.
So why are the Blues doing better than expected?
“We haven’t changed anything from the Miles. We’re the same football team. We run tempo offence. We’re loaded with athletes. The difference now is we have a little bit more size up front, which helps on the O-line and D-line,” Strecker said. “We create a lot of challenges for teams with our athletes and it shows. Facey had a tough time covering us. We had (457) yards of offence in the air (and 517 total yards). We had our chances that game.”
The difference was six TDs by Chuba Hubbard, a Grade 11 standout and the fourth-fastest 100-metre sprinter at the 2015 IAAF World Youth Championships.
Dreger, 17, stated the obvious: “We couldn’t stop the run,” said the six-foot-one, 250-pound defensive tackle, centre and long snapper. “With outside contain and inside contain we could’ve done better but he’s a pretty good athlete.”
“You know he’s fast but when you actually see it at field level, the kid is phenomenal,” Strecker added. “We knew we couldn’t stop him, we just wanted to limit him and we couldn’t even limit the kid. He’s just a good football player and he’s tough to scheme against.”
The hangover from the loss that felt like a win still lingered against Shep despite the lopsided score. It was 21-1 after the first quarter, 30-1 at the half and 37-1 after three quarters.
“We got too confident and let it fall. We need to come together, make the proper plays and proper calls and do our jobs and cut down on the penalties too,” said Dreger, who recovered a fumble in the win.
Three of the team’s six TDs were scored by playmaker Tanner Buchanan. The Grade 12 receiver/linebacker racked up tons of yards, highlighted by two spectacular long catch and runs for TDs and a pick-six from deep in Paul Kane territory.
“Tanner's defensive touchdown (with 7:29 left in the third quarter) was a little bit of a spark we needed. We were stalling big time on offence and the score was 30-1 and I think we had three or four consecutive three and outs and Tanner came up with the big play and it made us feel a little bit better about ourselves,” Strecker said. “He’s a good athlete and he’s stepping up on both sides of the ball. This is his first year playing defence and he’s making plays.”
On defence, Aiden Mueller picked off a pass and recovered a fumble and Arjun Basahti also had an interception but the Blues were offside on the play.
“I’m really happy with the way our defence played. They’re solid and making plays when we needed to make plays and it helps the offence out,” Strecker said.
Despite the win, Strecker stressed the Blues must pull it together for the Battle of St. Albert against the Bellerose Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Admission is $5 for what is being billed as the most anticipated cross-town St. Albert football match since the Bellerose versus St. Albert High Skyhawks donnybrooks.
The Bulldogs, ranked eighth in Tier I, are 3-1 after their third-straight win, 26-7 over the Salisbury Sabres (1-1-1) Thursday in Sherwood Park. The Sabres are ranked sixth in Tier I.
“We need to play better in all facets of the game: offence, defence and special teams,” Strecker told the Blues after Thursday’s win. “We’ve got to have the working mitts on for next Friday night because you know they’re going to bring it. They want this game so bad and so do we. Remember, we’re the lowly Miles team. We’re not supposed to be able to battle with Bellerose.”
Dreger can’t wait for the fireworks to start.
“They’re our St. Albert rivals. We’ve got to give it to them. We’ve got four days of practice so we’re going to come prepared,” said the Dreger, who was unable to compete for Team Alberta at the U18 Football Canada Cup in July at Montreal because of an ankle injury but made the team, along with Buchanan, as one of the few metro Edmonton players on the roster.
