The St. Albert High Skyhawks scored a dramatic game-winning touchdown with 29 seconds remaining to knock off the Leduc Tigers in the Miles conference division two playoffs Monday.
Skyhawks quarterback Sam Cuciz hooked up with DeAmonte Overman for the 50-yard catch and run TD thriller and Cuciz’s two-point conversion pass to Connor Lotoski was successful to seal the deal at 14-10 at Johnny Bright Park.
In league play the Tigers beat the Skyhawks 27-21.
The Tigers finished third and the Skyhawks placed sixth in the Miles standings.
The Skyhawks are now 3-4 after beating the Tigers (4-3) and Friday they huddle up against the second-place Strathcona Lords (4-2) in the Miles semifinals at 5 p.m. at Clarke Park.
The last game for the Skyhawks before the playoffs was the 18-0 loss to Strathcona.
The final is Nov. 4 at Johnny Bright.
The Skyhawks, last year’s finalists, are also gearing up for the Tier III (school population 450 to 749) north playdowns and the Nov. 12 semifinal against the Peace Wapiti Academy Titans of Grande Prairie kicks off at 11 a.m. at Johnny Bright Park.
The Mighty Peace league Titans and Skyhawks are listed sixth and seventh, respectively, in the Football Alberta Tier III rankings.
The Skyhawks are the only Tier III team in the Miles and last year they reached the north final.
A victory Friday by the Bellerose Bulldogs would secure a playoff date with the Spruce Grove Panthers in the Championship Saturday metro Edmonton Tier I provincial qualifier.
Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. against the Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds (0-6-1) at Clarke Park.
The top six Tier I (school population 1,250-plus students) teams out of the seven in the nine-team Carr division one standings advance to the metro Edmonton playoffs Nov. 5 to determine the three teams for the Nov. 12 north semifinals.
The Bulldogs (3-4) are the fifth Carr seed in Tier I after losing 15-7 to the third-seeded Panthers (5-2) last Friday in Spruce Grove but can tie the Jasper Place Rebels (4-4) for the fourth seed by beating Shep. The Bulldogs would then line up against the Panthers since they defeated the Rebels 21-17 with a late-game comeback in league play.
However, a loss to Shep would put the Bulldogs in grave danger of huddling up against the Bev Facey Falcons or Harry Ainlay Titans. Both teams are 7-0 and the Bulldogs lost to Facey and Ainlay by a combined score of 82-1 last month.
In the Tier I Football Alberta rankings, Facey is first, Ainlay is fourth, the Panthers are eighth and the Bulldogs are unranked.
Against the Panthers the Bulldogs ran only 14 plays on offence with less than a minute to go before halftime. They also turned the ball over on downs at the Panthers’ 15 on third and two, Quade Kozak was picked off in Bellerose territory and Colton Meronyk fumbled the ball at midfield.
The Bulldogs were also tagged with roughing the punter as Ben VanLeeuwen allegedly grazed the toe of the kicker as the Panther held his leg out to draw the call.
The first half ended with a dropped pass for a touchdown by Meronyk and the same play occurred in the fourth quarter.
On defence the Bulldogs also missed a ton of tackles.
The Bulldogs turned in a more inspired performance in the second half but were unable to capitalize on all of their opportunities.
Travis Heggart and Brett Yost, a pair of Grade 10 Bulldogs, were the standouts on offence. Heggart’s highlight-reel 26-yard catch to the goal line was capped off by Kozak’s quarterback plunge and VanLeeuwen converted the third-quarter TD.
Heggart collected five passes overall for 56 yards and Yost rushed for 50 yards, five more than Kozak, who was 11-for-26 passing for 137 yards and two interceptions.
Defensive tackle Ryan Young was credited with seven tackles, including two for losses.
Meanwhile, the junior Bulldogs (5-0) tackle the Jasper Place Rebels (4-1) in the metro division one semifinals Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Johnny Bright Park.
The winner plays the Bev Facey Falcons (4-0) or Memorial Marauders (5-1) in the Nov. 4 final at Clarke Park.
The Bulldogs are 34-0 in league and playoffs combined as the four-time defending division one champions since losing the 2011 semifinal to Facey.
The last Carr conference division one game for the Paul Kane Blues before the Tier II provincial north semifinals is Friday in Sherwood Park.
Kickoff is 5 p.m. against the Salisbury Sabres at the Emerald Hills Artificial Turf.
The Blues are 1-6 after their fourth loss in a row, 46-14 against the undefeated Bev Facey Falcons last Friday in St. Albert, and Salisbury is 0-6-1.
The Blues are projected to play the Lloydminster Barons in the Tier II (school population 750 to 1,249 students) playdowns Nov. 12 at 1:30 p.m. at Johnny Bright Park.
The Blues and Austin O’Brien Crusaders (4-3) are the only Tier II metro Edmonton teams in the Carr.
The Tier II Football Alberta rankings list AOB at No. 6, Lloydminster (5-2) of the Wheatland league is No. 9 and the Blues are unranked.
Reinforcements are on their way for the senior team after the junior Blues (3-3) lost their division one playoff 51-8 to the Jasper Place Rebels (3-2) Monday.
The juniors, decimated by injuries on both sides of the ball, trailed 36-0 at halftime but recorded eight first downs in the second half compared to only one in the opening half.
The Blues scored in the fourth quarter on Russell Dixon’s 36-yard touchdown pass to Alex Gamble and the two-point convert pass to Ty Baird was successful.
The opening playoff round in the Capital District Minor Football Association has been finalized for St. Albert’s peewee and bantam teams at Fuhr Sports Park.
Saturday in the bantam division the Fury (0-7) and Edmonton Raiders Black (1-6) play at 10 a.m. and the 49ers (6-1) and Stony Plain Bombers (5-1-1) clash at 1:30 p.m.
Sunday in the peewee division the Riders (4-3) tangle with the Edmonton Chargers (3-4) at 3 p.m. and the Colts (1-5) battle Camrose Buffaloes (6-0) at 4 p.m.
