Clarke Park – The Paul Kane Blues savoured the sweet taste of success in the Miles conference final as the toast of metro Edmonton high school football.
The Tier II provincial contenders uncorked their ninth straight win without a loss with a vintage 44-14 performance against the Ardrossan Bisons in front of a loud and proud Paul Kane crowd.
"Oh, man! What a great feeling!" exclaimed Grade 12 quarterback Cory Knott, the straw that stirs the drink for the Blues. "We've been waiting a long time for this. We've worked for a long time for this moment. It's well deserved."
The origins of the first senior team banner started with the Blues winning the premier junior championship in the inaugural 2011 season of Paul Kane football. "We wanted to repeat it. Our Grade 11 year was kind of a rebuilding year and we knew our Grade 12 year was going to be a big one and it sure is," trumpeted Tyler Turner, who got the party started in the second half with two prolific touchdown grabs to whip the fans into a lather.
Almost all of the 19 Grade 12s on the team's 31-man roster for the final celebrated their second championship in three years.
"It's a similar feeling but it's just magnified," said Graham Loerke, a Grade 12 linebacker and centre. "You've got way more fans out there cheering us on now and you have the momentum of the whole school behind us. There is lots of support for our team."
Head coach Rob Strecker declared 2013 was the Year of the Blues after the team finished 3-5 in the Carr conference last year.
"After our last game (in 2012) against Bev Facey (36-14 loss) I knew what we had coming back and I just knew we would be here," said the Paul Kane alumnus. "We took what we have for players and implemented new defensive plans and new offensive game plans. The boys bought into it and they executed and the proof is in the pudding right now on the field."
It wasn't a now or never scenario for the Blues, but the sense of urgency was striking after falling behind 14-0 with under three minutes left in the first quarter.
"It was kind of one of those classic PK slow starts but everything started to click around the end of the first quarter and then from there on out it felt dominating. We fired off the ball and we started to run them down a little with our speed and execution," said Loerke, 17. "It was a little nerve-wracking for sure at the start, but there is a lot of experience on this team so the guys more or less were able to keep a cool head and keep the younger guys calm and we were all able to keep our heads through that."
In league play the Blues rallied from a 12-0 deficit with 43 unanswered points to thump Ardrossan 43-20 in St Albert.
"I don't really want to say we were worried (about falling behind in the final) because we've been through stuff like that a little bit before. We know how to come back and today we came back really strong and answered," said Turner, 17, a Grade 12 slotback, defensive back and dangerous kick returner.
Ardrossan (5-4), ranked sixth in Tier III, drove the opening kickoff 76 yards in 5:08 minutes. A 35-yard catch and run behind blown coverage to the Paul Kane 15 on second down and 15 set up the TD run from inside the two.
After a two-and-out by the Blues on their first possession, Ardrossan marched the ball from the Paul Kane 41, culminating with a one-yard quarterback sneak. The big play was a 24-yard catch in double coverage at the Paul Kane nine on a ball thrown up for grabs on third and two.
"It was definitely a rocky start. We seem to have that problem a few times this year and we've got to get that out of the way with bigger games and better teams coming our way," said Knott, 17, in reference to the Tier II provincial playoffs starting Saturday in Grande Prairie. "But when we do face that adversity, we always seem to overcome it by digging deep and grinding out yards wherever we can get them. We knew what we had to do today and we made it happen."
Comeback charge
The Blues cued the comeback on the second play on their second possession. Facing second and nine at the Paul Kane 26, and the momentum clearly on Ardrossan's side, Knott hooked up with Frankie White for the play of the game. The diminutive wideout out-jumped his height while heavily defended for a clutch reception while staying in bounds in front of the Ardrossan bench for a 26-yard gain.
"It was a great catch. It got the sticks moving and it got Cory's confidence going," Strecker said of the team's first first down of the game.
On the next play Knott scrambled for 12 yards, followed by White's 12-yard catch and run to keep the drive going. A few plays later, after runs by Knott and workhorse Kieran Porter, Knott scored off a bootleg from the seven on the second play in quarter two. Knott also hit Turner for the two-point conversion.
It was all Blues after the first of three TDs by Knott before halftime.
"Once we got that first touchdown we kept the momentum going and kept our foot on the gas pedal. The defence finally started to come up with some big stops too," Strecker said. "They did some things to us that we weren't expecting at the beginning but once we felt confident what we were doing on both sides of the ball, we just took over. It was very similar to the first game when we fell behind and once we got our momentum going and it went from there."
After the first two-and-out by Ardrossan, the Blues huddled up at their 42 and quickly pushed forward on runs by Knott and Porter, plus a 19-yard catch and run by Theo Block. On second and seven at the Ardrossan 22, Knot's pass fell incomplete but the Bisons were flagged for roughing the passer. On first and goal at the seven, Knott bolted up the gut for his second TD. On the two-point conversion, Porter went low to make a difficult catch just past the goal line to put the Blues on top 16-14 with 6:45 left until halftime.
After the kick off, on second and nine at the Ardrossan 43, the Bisons completed a pass but the receiver coughed up the ball while tackled and Turner recovered it at the Ardrossan 53.
Despite an early offside flag to start the drive, the Blues roared down field as Knott and Porter gobbled up the yards and White and Turner made key catches for seven and 10 yards, respectively. On first and goal from the 10, Knott slid over the goal line. Nick Parrotta, a call-up from the junior Blues, kicked the convert to make it 23-14 with 3:20 remaining until the break.
"We wanted to get Cory into the game early with his legs and his arm and he showed why he is the best player in the league," Strecker said of the Haliburton Trophy winner as the MVP in Miles.
Ardrossan rebounded to move into scoring range on the strength of a 48-yard catch and run down the sideline to the Paul Kane 23, but on third and 10 Loerke led the defensive charge to snuff out the quarterback rollout at the 15.
Game over
Ardrossan was a non-factor in the second half as the Blues rolled up the points.
Turner's first TD, a 37-yard catch and run while slipping out tackles, capped off the opening drive of the third quarter.
Knott's second TD throw was 29 yards to Block, who snagged the ball behind coverage at the five and trotted into the endzone with 5:20 to go in the quarter.
On the second play in the fourth quarter, Turner made a great move to scoop up a low pass from Knott around the Ardrossan 15, spun away from two defenders and raced into the endzone for the 35-yard score. Parrotta's fourth conversion wrapped up the scoring.
The Blues also had TD receptions of 37 yards by Block and 24 yards by Turner called back because of penalties in the last quarter.
"Our guys were pulling everything in and Tyler Turner had a phenomenal game," Strecker said
The Blues made a few subtle changes offensively for the final after averaging 56.8 points in eight games.
"With our limited offence it's pretty easy for teams to defend against us. We sort of give away some things that we do so (offensive coordinator) Randy Guy tweaked some things and we knew that was going to open something else up and it did," Strecker said.
The Blues are now in select company as one of the few St. Albert senior teams to win a metro football banner since the formation of the high school association in 1988/89. Previous winners in the Miles were the Storm in 1995, Skyhawks in 1998 and 2006 and the Bellerose Bulldogs in 2007 and past Carr champions include the Storm in 1990, 1992 and 1997 and the Skyhawks in 2000.
"It's so cool," Turner said of the accomplishment. "It's really great for the school."
