This weekend the Capital District Minor Football Association kicks off the 2012 season with jamborees in the bantam, peewee and atom divisions.
The seeding games are spread over two weeks to determine the Tier I and II division teams in league play.
The mini games are controlled scrimmages with no kicking or special teams.
Sunday’s bantam jamboree at Riel Recreation Park runs from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The St. Albert Fury and St. Albert 49ers play each other at 3 p.m.
The Fury also line up against the Wetaskiwin Wolverines at 10 a.m., Camrose Buffaloes at 11:30 a.m. and the Sherwood Park Wolverines at 1:30 p.m.
The 49ers tackle the Edmonton Chargers at 11:30 a.m., the Spruce Grove Cougars at 12:15 p.m. and the Edmonton Northstars at 3:45 p.m.
The head coach of the 49ers is Randy Guy and Tim Enger is the field general for the Fury. Enger, the technical director for Football Alberta, is also the head coach of the Paul Kane Blues’ junior team and the offensive co-ordinator for Paul Kane’s senior team in the metro Edmonton high school league.
The first peewee jamboree goes today at the Fuhr Sports Park in Spruce Grove. The St. Albert Colts and St. Albert Riders go head-to-head at 3:45 p.m.
Also on tap today is the atom jamboree at Strathcona Athletic Park. The St. Albert Buccaneers and St. Albert Vikings clash at 3:45 p.m.
CDMFA jamborees are also scheduled for St. Albert’s turf field on Wednesday for peewees and Thursday for bantams from 6 to 9 p.m., Aug. 25 for atoms from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Aug. 29 for peewees from 6 to 9 p.m.
Visit www.samfa.ca or www.cdmfa.ca for the jamboree schedules.
The Sept. 13 tilt between the Bellerose Bulldogs and Paul Kane Blues kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Last year the Bulldogs shut out the Blues 22-0.
The Bulldogs and St. Albert High Skyhawks square off Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the most heated high school sports rivalry in St. Albert. The Bulldogs sunk the Skyhawks 13-10 last year. The victory marked the second-straight year the Bulldogs beat the Skyhawks after seven losses in a row, dating back to 1999. It was also the first time the Skyhawks played Bellerose without Paul Kane players in their line-up. The Bulldogs draw players from Sturgeon Composite High School.
The Skyhawks and the Blues will go toe-to-toe Oct. 4 at 5 p.m. The Skyhawks blanked the Blues 15-0 in a low-key affair. It was the first season of high school football for the Blues after players from Paul Kane and St. Albert Catholic High School played for the Skyhawks in previous years.
The Blues didn’t win a game in the metro Edmonton regular season, but the junior Blues finished 7-1 overall as the premier conference champions.
Friday the Paul Kane Blues and the Jasper Place Rebels will hold a combined practice from 4 to 6 p.m. at Riel Recreation Park.
The new head coach of the Blues is Rob Strecker.
Sam Johnson, head coach of the St. Albert High Skyhawks, was cracking the whip at practice this week in preparation for the team’s Aug. 28 to Sept. 3 trip to California for an exhibition game.
Last year the Skyhawks finished 3-5 in the metro Edmonton league as the only Tier III team in the Carr conference. In their first year in the Tier III provincial playdowns the Skyhawks lost the north final to the Stettler Wildcats.
The last team from St. Albert Catholic High School to compete in the provincial playdowns was the 2000 Tier I north finalist.
The Skyhawks overall record in 2011 was 4-8.
Chad Hill, head coach of the Bellerose Bulldogs, has a full roster of senior and junior players to work with this year. The junior Dawgs are expected to challenge the Blues for the premier title and the first metro Edmonton junior championship in team history.
Last year’s overall record for the senior Bulldogs was 2-7.
The last St. Albert team to win the Carr conference championship was the 2000 Skyhawks.
