Tuesday’s playoff preview between the Bellerose Bulldogs and Bev Facey Falcons set the stage for next week’s rematch in high school junior football.
Ryan Shorten and Nick Svenson scored touchdowns and two interceptions by Bellerose in the second half kept Facey off the scoreboard in the 14-0 exhibition win in St. Albert.
“We came into this game knowing it was going to be a challenge and we did everything we had to do to win it,” said middle linebacker Andre Sarafinchan.
Shorten was among a number of junior-eligible players from the senior Bulldogs to dress against Facey. The Dawgs also switched their uniform numbers around and Bellerose head coach Chad Hill suspects Facey did the same thing.
Despite the trickery involved in a game played with straight running time, Sarafinchan was happy to line up against Facey a week before the big game.
“It’s definitely a confidence booster. It’s good to have an idea what we will be facing and who our opponent is going to be,” said the Grade 11 Bellerose student. “We’ve still got to get better because I know they’re going to get better.”
The metro Edmonton premier semifinal kicks off Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Johnny Bright Park.
“I’m expecting that they’re going to be just as hungry as us,” Sarafinchan said. “We’re going to go as hard as we can and we’re going to shut them down.”
Last year’s 41-0 loss against Facey in the semifinals ended Bellerose’s undefeated season.
“For our returning players it’s unfinished business. This is payback for us to get what we should’ve got in the first place,” Sarafinchan said. “It was definitely a confidence crusher when we went to playoffs and got shut down by Facey, but this year it’s a different story.”
Bellerose finished 2-1 in pool B and is 5-1 overall. Facey was 3-0 in pool A.
“This year we have a lot more commitment on our team. We have guys willing to go 100 per cent all the time, even in practice,” Sarafinchan said.
The playoff winner will meet the Paul Kane Blues or Beaumont Bandits in the Nov. 3 final.
The only Bellerose loss this year was 14-9 against Paul Kane.
“I hope we play Paul Kane because that game for us was a joke. We didn’t play to our level of ability,” said Sarafinchan, 17.
The last junior final for Bellerose was 2005.
“We’re going for a premier title and to get there we have to go through Facey and trust me they’re hungry. Their program does not accept losing one bit,” Hill told his players after Tuesday’s win.
Meanwhile, Paul Kane raised its overall record to 5-1 after beating the winless Austin O’Brien Crusaders 34-7 in Tuesday’s exhibition at Clarke Park.
Greg Fleming ran three yards for a touchdown and returned an interception 42 yards for another score in the first quarter. Before the first half ended, quarterback Cory Knott broke free for a 57-yard TD run and the Blues recovered a fumble in the end zone.
Knott also hooked up with Frankie White for a 62-yard TD reception in the third quarter.
Isaac Kong converted four TDs.
Paul Kane is undefeated in three league games going into Wednesday’s semifinal against the 2-1 Bandits. Kickoff is 5 p.m. at Johnny Bright Park.
Admission to all junior playoff games is $5.
