The playoff drive shifts gears with the finish line in sight for St. Albert’s high school junior football teams.
The undefeated Bellerose Bulldogs are the front-runners as the metro Edmonton division one champions the last four years after their fifth pool B win of the season and 34th in a row in league and playoffs since the 2011 semifinals.
“We stand a really good chance of winning the championship again,” said Sheldon MacKay, a shifty Grade 11 Bellerose running back, after Tuesday’s 39-21 result against the Paul Kane Blues at Riel Recreation Park.
“We have to get refocused after this game and hit the playoffs hard.”
Bellerose will line up in the Oct. 31 semifinal against the winner of Monday’s crossover playoff between 3-2 Paul Kane and the Jasper Place Rebels, 3-1 in pool A, at 7:30 p.m. at Emerald Hills Artificial Turf in Sherwood Park.
“They’re a tough team. We’ve definitely got a game ahead of us but we’ll work on it because you win games in practice,” said Russell Dixon, a prolific Grade 10 Paul Kane quarterback.
The Bev Facey Falcons, 4-0 in pool A, also have a bye into the semifinals.
Facey is the last team to beat Bellerose and last year’s final ended with the Bulldogs crushing the Falcons 41-6.
The semifinal for Bellerose kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Johnny Bright Park and the championship match is Nov. 4 at Clarke Park.
A five-peat by Bellerose would match the metro record for consecutive junior football championships by the 1991-95 St. Francis Xavier Rams.
“It’s pretty exciting to have a shot at the record for most championships and another undefeated season,” said MacKay, part of the six-man core of returning Bulldogs from last year’s 6-0 team of players from the Bellerose and Sturgeon high schools. “We have some really good experienced players and a couple of good rookies too and that’s helped us a lot.”
As strong as Bellerose is – 253 points scored and 81 against – the Bulldogs were 75 seconds away from their first loss since the 2011 playoffs in the wild and woolly 54-50 decision against the 4-1 Memorial Marauders last week in Spruce Grove
“That was a stressful game, especially near the end,” said MacKay of the penalty and mistake filled showing by Bellerose, as well as suspect officiating, that ended in dramatic fashion with Andrew Nielson’s quarterback run of 30 yards for the go-ahead points with 37 seconds remaining.
“We didn’t have a hard practice that week but we definitely pulled it up this week. This was by far a better game for sure. Offensively we did a better job. We added new plays and executed them well and on defence we shut them down pretty good.”
Paul Kane’s second loss of the season wasn’t as bad as the season-opening 39-36 defeat against Memorial when the Blues gassed leads of 28-7 at halftime and 36-27 with four minutes remaining. Memorial’s go-ahead major was scored with 2.1 seconds on the clock.
“Definitely, this was a better loss because we were able to execute. In the second half of the (Memorial) game we really fell apart. We couldn’t do anything,” Dixon said. “(Bellerose) has a very strong defence and we did what we could. We couldn’t throw the ball because we had so much pressure so we started running the ball. We did catch them a few times (for touchdowns) but overall it was a good game. We worked hard and pushed it.
“Bellerose is a tough team. Good luck for them in the playoffs.”
The first of two TDs by Dixon, a 56-yard scamper in the last minute of the first half, put the Blues on the board after Bellerose tacked up 23 points, including 16 in the second quarter.
On the first play from scrimmage, Jared Koziol’s slant pass for the Bulldogs bounced off the receiver’s hands and high into the air for Brenden Wagensveld to run under it for the interception at the Bellerose 44. However, the Blues were unable to convert the turnover into points.
Before the end of the first quarter, a lengthy catch and run by Chase Kobza down the sideline to the two was followed by the first of three TDs by Nathan Brake to cap off a 93-yard drive and Trey Lavoie kicked the convert.
Lavoie also tacked up a single off an unsuccessful 17-yard field goal with under six minutes left until halftime.
On the next series for Paul Kane, Darryl Marsh’s quarterback sack on second down led to punter Ty Baird giving up a safety in the endzone.
Back on offence at the Bellerose 35, Nielsen hooked up with Brake for a couple of clutch first-down receptions before Brake ran in his second TD from the seven with 2:19 to play before the break to make it 16-0. The two-point conversion was no good.
The ensuing kick-off was fumbled by Paul Kane and recovered by Bellerose at the 45. MacKay’s first-down catch and face-masking flag against Paul Kane put the ball at the one for Koziol to cross the goal line. Lavoie converted the TD with 1:34 remaining in the half to lead by 23.
“You could tell everyone had that lost step after that third touchdown,” Dixon said “They ran up on us pretty quick and we all got pretty down on ourselves after that.”
Brake’s third TD, a two-yard burst to complete a drive highlighted by major rushing yardage by MacKay, and Lavoie’s convert came with 4:27 gone in the third quarter.
Paul Kane entered the Battle of St. Albert averaging 44.3 points per game but injuries to starter Matt Curtis and backup Jamie Carswell in the tailback position before the contest forced defensive end John Dahunsi to get a crash course on fullback duties as the starter; Rylan Baerg moved to tailback.
Dixon, who racked up 801 passing yards and eight TDs in four games before Tuesday, also suffered a jammed finger on his throwing hand in the second half and was unable to work his aerial magic, thus limiting Paul Kane to mainly a ground game.
The bantam graduate of the West Edmonton Raiders legged out 167 yards on the ground for 596 on the season.
“I just try and take advantage of what the defence gives me really. I try and make them make the wrong decision and then exploit that,” said Dixon, 15, who attended junior high at Graminia School in Spruce Grove before deciding to play high school football at Paul Kane.
“Lots of nice people here and lots of people that care about football,” added Dixon, a Team Alberta U16 selection at quarterback for the 2017 International Bowl in January in Arlington, Texas.
In the fourth quarter, Dixon’s second rushing TD of the night and ninth of the season was 11 yards and Baerg kicked the convert.
Bellerose put itself in scoring position on a long dash by Brake to the eight, but the Grade 10 standout was injured on the play. In addition to the three TDs, Brake finished with 87 yards on nine carries and snagged three passes for 46 yards.
After a lengthy delay, the game resumed and on first down Bellerose fumbled the ball in the backfield and Paul Kane fell on it at the 20. Three plays later, Baird gave up another safety in the endzone.
Back on offence, MacKay motored 75 yards but the Bulldogs were flagged for holding on the TD.
Paul Kane’s last TD was 31 yards by Baerg and he converted the score with 3:24 to play.
“We had a wakeup call in the second half and after our player got injured we had to step it up even more,” said MacKay, who was credited with 184 yards on 15 carries and hauled in four passes for 64 yards.
Nielsen closed out the scoring with a nine-yard run and Lavoie converted the major with 1:47 to go.
On defence, game balls were presented to lineman Aidan Orr of Bellerose for plugging the gaps and halfback Alex Gamble of Paul Kane for 10 solo tackles.
The victory was the fifth straight for Bellerose over Paul Kane since the Blues won the inaugural 2011 junior showdown and last year’s score was 14-7.
“It’s pretty good. It’s bragging rights in the city for us,” said MacKay, 16. “It’s always fun to have friends on the other team so you can say you beat them.”
