Foote Field – For the second year in a row the Paul Kane Blues will huddle up in the Tier II north semifinal against the St. Joseph’s Celtics of Grande Prairie.
Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Foote Field and admission is $5.
The Blues are 8-0 after repeating as the Miles division two champions in the metro Edmonton league.
The Celtics are 11-0 after knocking off the Whitecourt Cats (6-3), a Tier III team, 15-3 in the Mighty Peace league final.
“I told the boys every game from here on in is going to get harder and harder and harder and we’re going to have to bring our best, and if we don’t we’re not going to win,” said head coach Rob Strecker after Saturday’s titanic 50-45 tilt with the McNally Tigers in the Miles final.
Last year the Blues battled through adversity to defeat the Celtics 45-28 on a slick field in Grande Prairie. The Blues fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter and then 21-14 before racking up 31 unanswered points, including 24 in the second half, before the 2013 Mighty Peace league finalists scored with 30 seconds remaining.
“They’re different from last year but we’re different too,” said Shayden Phillip, one of 12 returnees from last year’s 10-1 Blues. “We'll prepare for them this week. It will be a tough game but we’ll be ready.”
The winner will tackle the Austin O’Brien Crusaders (3-6), a Carr division one team and winners of three consecutive Alberta Bowl championships, or the Lloydminster Barons (7-2) of the Wheatland league in the Tier II north final next Saturday.
The Alberta Bowl is Nov. 22 at 11 a.m. in Lethbridge.
Last year the Blues lost their last game of the season, 32-0 to the Crusaders in the Tier II north final in the snow at Clarke Park.
“After last year especially, we want to go all the way. That’s the best way to end it. Winning the Miles again was our goal and now we’ve got to get it done in provincials,” said Phillip, a Grade 12 slotback and halfback.
In the Tier II (750 to 1,249 students) Football Alberta rankings the Celtics are No. 1, the Blues are No. 2, the Crusaders are No. 8 and Lloydminster is No. 9.
The Blues dodged a bullet against the impressive Tigers (6-3), an unranked Tier II team that lost 41-24 to Paul Kane in league play. The Tigers led 24-16 at halftime and 38-29 after three quarters before the Blues battled back with three lightning-quick TDs with under seven minutes to play to pull away at 50-38.
The Tigers replied with their sixth TD of the game and third via the air with 43.3 ticks on the clock but the Blues recovered the onside the kick to seal the deal.
“This was great for us. When it comes down to the last minute to win a football game it’s a character builder,” said Strecker, who looked like he suffered a heart attack after the second kick-off return for a TD in a row by the Tigers in the third quarter. “However there were some mental mistakes we have to correct or we stand no chance (against the Celtics).”
On the positive side, the high-octane Blues’ offence compiled 260 passing yards as Grade 11 quarterback Brendan Guy completed 19 of 29 attempts for five TDs and four players combined for 178 yards on the ground on 34 carries.
The defence also rose to the challenge down the stretch after giving up TD receptions of 87 and 75 yards in the second quarter.
“There were so many momentum shifts. It was just a great game,” said Phillip, who grabbed a team-high seven passes for 57 yards for TDs of nine yards in the second quarter and 12 yards in the third quarter.
The Blues are the first Miles’ team to repeat since the Ardrossan Bisons in 2010-11.
“The feeling is indescribable,” Phillip said. “You only dream of winning a championship but to do it twice in a row is just ridiculous.”
It’s a remarkable accomplishment considering this is the fourth year of football at Paul Kane, a feeder school for the St. Albert High Skyhawks for 13 years before forming its own program in 2011.
“It’s amazing what we’ve done,” Phillip, the third-leading receiver on the team in league play with 273 yards on 20 catches who also led the Blues with eight TDs despite missing some games with an upper body injury.
“Lot’s of people don’t like us. They want us to lose,” Phillip added. “We almost lost today but we kept going. It just shows everyone that we’re legit.”
THIRD DOWN: Aidan Mueller was the Blues’ nominee for the Haliburton Trophy as the most valuable player in the Miles. The Grade 11 slotback and SAM linebacker was the top receiver in the Miles with 333 yards on 25 catches, finished tied for third in TDs with six, shared first place in interceptions with five and was credited with 13 tackles.
The winner was Jeremiah Varghese of the Tigers, the leading rusher in the Miles with 686 yards on 34 carries. His nine TDs also ranked first in the division.
