It was close until the opening kickoff, then the roof caved in on the Bellerose Bulldogs in Thursday’s first-place showdown with the Bev Facey Falcons.
The defending Carr conference champions in metro Edmonton high school football whipped the Bulldogs 44-0 at Strathcona Athletic Park.
“We simply got beat in every facet of the game. They were better on offence, defence and special teams,” said Chad Hill, head coach of the 5-2 Bulldogs.
It went from bad to worse for the Bulldogs after they muffed the first kickoff and the offence huddled up at the Bellerose 12.
An unnecessary roughness penalty against the Bulldogs on Facey’s first drive gave the No. 3-ranked Tier I team in Alberta and extra opportunity to score.
Facey (7-0) led 14-0 after the first quarter and 29-0 at halftime.
The Bulldogs didn’t record a first down until the second quarter.
Facey also picked off two passes in the second half.
Facey’s triple option offence gave the defence fits with quarterback Brad Launhardt and running back Bryson Dobush doing most of the damage.
Launhardt also made some great plays when the Bulldogs had him on the run, but managed to scramble and find receivers.
The Bulldogs’ punt coverage team also struggled to contain Matt Nash. He gave Facey good field position with long runs the entire first half.
On defence, Ryan Shorten and Ben Graunke led the Bulldogs in tackles. Shorten also recovered a fumble in the third quarter.
Jacob Neuls and Billy Clapp also showed toughness playing both ways for most of the game.
The Bulldogs, ranked eighth in Tier 1, close out the regular season in Thursday’s must-win game against the Austin O’Brien Crusaders (4-3). Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Riel Recreation Park. Admission is $5.
A win would guarantee the Bulldogs a playoff spot. A loss would potentially create a three-way tie and the tie-breaking rules would determine the second, third and fourth place finishers for the Oct. 30 semifinals at Clarke Park.
The Bulldogs and St. Albert High Skyhawks (5-2) share second place, two points head of the Crusaders and Salisbury Sabres (4-3).
“This better be a wakeup call for us,” Hill said. “There is no time to dwell on the loss. We have to regroup and focus on AOB, who is looking strong once again.”
Theo Block caught two touchdown passes and Kieran Porter rushed for two majors for the Paul Kane Blues in Tuesday’s 28-6 win over the Austin O’Brien Crusaders in high school junior football.
The defending metro Edmonton premier champions took their first possession to the house with a 58-yard TD pass from Shaydon Philip to Block.
The Blues struggled offensively for the rest of the half in a wicked windstorm at Clarke Park. The defence stood tall for the most part, with the exception of one drive by the Crusaders for a TD early in the second quarter. The score at halftime was 6-6.
An inspired Paul Kane team dominated both sides of the ball in the second half. Porter scored from the one-yard line and Philip hit Block for a two-yard TD in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter the defence allowed one first down by the Crusaders, who had a stiff wind at their backs.
Porter’s sixth TD in three games was a 63-yard romp with two minutes remaining. Philip scrambled for the two-point convert.
The Blues (4-1) remain two points back of the Bellerose Bulldogs (5-0) and St. Joseph Saints (5-1) and the loss left the Crusaders (1-4) stuck in seventh place in the eight-team division.
On Friday the Blues played the Salisbury Sabres (1-3-1), but the score was unavailable at press time.
The last game for the Blues before the playoffs is Tuesday against the Saints. Kickoff is 5 p.m. at Clarke Park. Both teams are expected to meet in the Nov. 1 semifinals at Foote Field.
