The Bellerose Bulldogs finished their Carr conference season the same way they started, a shutout loss in metro Edmonton high school football.
The first-place Sabres (7-1), ranked fourth in Tier I (1,250-plus students), blanked the Bulldogs 14-0 in Friday’s semifinal at Clarke Park.
In the season opener the Sabres downed the Bulldogs 21-0 in Sherwood Park.
In the playoffs the Sabres opened the scoring on the first play from scrimmage, an off-tackle 60-plus yard run from a formation that caught the Bulldogs by surprise.
The Bulldogs’ defence quickly rose to the challenge and gave the offence two possessions inside the Salisbury 35, but Bellerose was unable to capitalize on a fake field goal attempt by Seth Waselenchuk that fell short of a first down and Matty Short’s quarterback sneak from the one after he hooked up with Nick Svenson for a 32-yard catch and run.
In the second quarter the Sabres advanced the ball through the air, but Dean Ciampanelli forced a fumble and Dylan Shorten recovered it at the Bellerose one.
The Sabres scored their second TD on a penalty-aided drive in the third quarter. A face-masking flag against Ciampanelli put the Sabres first and goal and they connected with a TD pass.
The Bulldogs struggled moving the ball in the second half. Jackson Ryan did the bulk of the running with Tyler Feltis, Bellerose’s top rusher, limited in reps due to injury. The absence of injured guard Curt Supruniuk was another big blow.
Nick Cowan led the team in tackles and Ciampanelli and John Comeau recorded sacks.
The Bulldogs ended the season with a 4-5 record as the No. 7-ranked Tier I team in Alberta.
The St. Albert Fury are playing for more than a bantam Tier 1 championship for the first time in team history in the Capital District Minor Football Association.
Sunday’s result against the Sherwood Park Rams (8-0) will determine where the Fury (6-1-1) will huddle up in the Football Alberta Tier I provincial semifinals. A win would see the Fury host the southern Alberta champion on Nov. 9 and a loss would send the team to Calgary to play the Calgary bantam champion on the same day.
Game time against the Rams is 2:30 p.m. at Clarke Park and admission is $5.
It’s the first time Fury will line up in the Tier 1 final since the formation of the CDMFA in 1992 after semifinal exits in 1993, 2003 and 2011.
In league play the Rams won 54-27 in St. Albert as tailback Chuba Hubbard racked up seven touchdowns.
The Fury won the right to challenge the Rams for CDMFA honours in last weekend’s 35-14 victory over the Edmonton Chargers (5-2-1) in the Tier 1 semifinal in Spruce Grove. The week before the teams battled to a 30-all draw in St. Albert.
The Fury built up leads of 14-0 at halftime and 21-7 after three quarters.
Keaton Zaychkowsky ran wild for 198 yards on 17 carries for three TDs. Colton Meronyk added 158 yards on eight carries for one TD and Jesse Stuht had five carries for 42 yards and one TD.
Quarterback Sam Cuciz was 6-for-14 passing for 69 yards while hitting five different receivers in the process.
Meronyk was the Fury’s leading tackler with 10.
The Fury will be profiled in Saturday’s edition of the Gazette.
The Bellerose Bulldogs kick off the metro Edmonton junior division one playoffs Thursday against the Memorial Marauders.
Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Clarke Park.
Last year the Bulldogs finished 9-0 as premier playoff champions.
In pool B action the Bulldogs (5-0) pummeled Memorial (4-2) by a 63-12 score in Spruce Grove. Memorial is the only team to score against the Bulldogs this year
The winner plays the Salisbury Sabres (4-0) or Jasper Place Rebels (3-2) in the Nov. 7 final at 5 p.m. at Clarke Park.
The Rebels are coming off a 13-10 win over the Paul Kane Blues (4-2) in Monday’s opening playoff round.
Darryl Broderick’s four-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter capped off a nine-play Paul Kane drive.
The Rebels tied it up before halftime on a similar drive that ate up time on the clock.
On the following kick off, Broderick’s return to the 10 was wiped out by a penalty. It was among 15 penalties in total for the Blues. A strong drive to start the second half was also snuffed out by penalties.
Midway through the third quarter, Nick Parrotta took advantage of the furthest Blues’ penetration into Jasper Place territory by stroked a 21-yard field goal to put the Blues up 10-7.
The Rebels answered with a seven-play drive, their best of the half, and scored as time expired in the quarter to go on top 13-10.
In the division two playoffs, the St. Albert Hawks (1-5) won their first game of the season for a berth in Thursday’s semifinal against the O’Leary Spartans (2-3). Kickoff is 5 p.m. at Johnny Bright Park.
In league play the Hawks lost 24-21 to O’Leary.
The winner tackles the Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds (1-4) or Austin O’Brien Crusaders (1-3) in the Nov. 6 final at 5 p.m. at Clarke Park.
Playoff admission for junior games is $5.
