Bulldogs roaring
The Bellerose Bulldogs are poised to huddle up in the division one Carr conference playoffs after knocking off the Strathcona Lords 37-23 in Friday’s must-win game at Foote Field.The outcome left the Bulldogs and Lords tied at 2-3 for the sixth and final playoff berth with one game remaining in league play.
Friday the Bulldogs host the Jasper Place Rebels (0-5) on Senior Night at Larry Olexiuk Field and the Lords line up against the Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds (3-2) at Emerald Hills. Kickoff times are 7:30 p.m.
The top two teams have first-round byes when the metro Edmonton playoffs start Oct. 26.
The second win in a row by the Bulldogs was a come-from-behind effort. Down 9-0 in the first quarter and 16-7 in the second quarter, the Bulldogs jumped ahead on Brett Yost’s two-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion catch from quarterback Jared Koziol for the 23-16 lead in the third quarter.
After the Lords tied it up at 23 with a 68-yard pick-six, Koziol completed TD passes of 20 yards to Caleb Akerley and 56 yards to Adam Rafat.
Mohammad Zeidan converted both majors as well as Koziol to Shane Loewen 90-yard TD in the first quarter and Yost’s eight-yard TD in the second quarter.
Zeidan also added a single point before halftime.
There was no scoring in the fourth quarter.
Koziol completed 12 of 17 passes for 388 yards and was picked off twice.
Rafat caught six passes for 171 yards, Loewen registered 125 yards on two receptions and Akerly snagged two passes for 79 yards.
Yost gained 100 yards on 27 carries.
Bronson Wilke led the defence with 10 tackles and Ashton Drew had nine.
Liam Birch and Kyle Anderson also recorded QB sacks.
The Lords, last year's division two Miles conference champions, returned a fumble 83 yards and the conversion made it 16-7 in the second quarter.
Hawks at home
The St. Albert High Skyhawks wrap up the division two Miles conference regular season Thursday against the Leduc Tigers.Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Larry Olexiuk Field.
The Skyhawks (5-1) have an Oct. 26 semifinal berth locked up and Leduc (2-2-1) is fighting for playoff spot.
The final is Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Commonwealth Stadium.
The Skyhawks are coming off a surprising 14-13 loss to the O’Leary Spartans (2-3-1) last week in St. Albert.
The Skyhawks were missing five players and it showed.
The setback dropped the Skyhawks one notch to No. 3 in the Football Alberta Tier III (450 to 749 students) rankings.
Meanwhile, the Skyhawks will host the Tier III provincial north semifinal against the Mighty Peace league rep Nov. 10 in St. Albert.
Big game for PK
The season is on the line Friday for the Paul Kane Blues in the last division two Miles conference game before the playoffs.Paul Kane (2-3-1) must beat the St. Francis Xavier Rams (2-4) to have any shot of qualifying for the Oct. 26 semifinals.
Kickoff is 5 p.m. at Larry Olexiuk Field.
The M.E Lazerte Voyageurs (3-1-1), Leduc Tigers (2-2-1) and O’Leary Spartans (2-3-1) are also in the playoff mix.
The St. Albert High Skyhawks (5-1) and Archbishop Jordan Scots (5-1) have guaranteed playoff berths.
Last week, Paul Kane dropped a 22-13 decision to the Scots in St. Albert.
Down 15-0 at halftime, Paul Kane battled back to make it 15-13. After the defence made a stop with under three minutes to play, Paul Kane marched the ball into Scots’ territory, but a pick-six sealed the deal for the Sherwood Park squad. The ball was inches away from Paul Kane receiver Ethan Wedman, who had nothing but daylight down the sideline, but the defender made a nice play to bat it into the air and catch it for the game-clinching touchdown.
Paul Kane is 0-3-1 after starting off the season with wins of 57-0 against the McNally Tigers (0-6) and 14-12 against O’Leary.
The 2017 Miles’ finalists and Tier II (750 to 1,249 students) provincial north semifinalists are also unranked in the Football Alberta Tier II top 10. The metro Edmonton teams listed are the Austin O’Brien Crusaders of the division one Carr Conference at No. 5 and the Scots at No. 8.
