Losing by 32 points to the No. 1-ranked Tier I team in the province was a moral victory for the Bellerose Bulldogs.
The 38-6 misfortune against the undefeated Bev Facey Falcons in Saturday’s north semifinal at Foote Field was a vast improvement over the 45-1 loss to the Carr conference division one champions in the metro Edmonton league’s lid-lifter Sept. 2.
Facey entered the north playdowns averaging 45.4 points for and 5.1 against in nine wins and the combined margin of victory in its last two games was 76-0.
Grade 12 star Chuba Hubbard, the top football prospect in Canada and Oklahoma State Cowboys' recruit, broke free in the second quarter for multiple touchdowns, as Facey erupted for five TDs and 35 points, along with two interceptions, to lead 38-0 at halftime.
The scoring spree started with Hubbard’s 56-yard major with 8:30 left in the half, followed by TD runs of 26 and 81 yards during a 3:31-minute span by the two-time Carr MVP.
“We played about seven and a half minutes of bad football and Facey made us pay. Chuba went off and that was the game,” said Chad Hill, head coach of the 5-5 Bulldogs. “However, I am extremely proud that we fought back and took the fight to them until the final whistle. We hit Chuba hard and got our licks in on the quarterback. We completed some deep balls and showed grit.”
Hubbard was on the receiving end of bone-jarring hits by Travis Heggart and Kyle Viczko in the third quarter and in the fourth quarter he was pulled as Facey slotted backups in on both sides of the ball.
Facey kicked a 30-yard field goal 3:21 into the contest and closed out the first half with a 20-yard catch and one-yard quarterback plunge for TDs.
The Bulldogs broke the shutout with Quade Kozak’s one-yard quarterback sneak for his 12th TD of the season. A 50-yard catch and run by Logan McCullough inside the five and penalties to Facey for unnecessary roughness and objectionable conduct put the ball at the one.
Heggart led all receivers with six catches for a team-leading 33.
Defensive end Nick Allen also recorded a sack, his sixth in three games for a team-high seven on the season.
Lineman Matt Coogan recovered a Hubbard fumble in Bellerose territory in the second quarter but on the next play Kozak was intercepted.
Coogan also recovered the on-side kick the Bulldogs pulled off in the last quarter.
The Bulldogs, ninth in the final Tier I (1,250-plus students) Football Alberta rankings, roared into provincials as winners of four of their last five games, including a riveting come-from-behind 32-21 decision against the Spruce Grove Panthers (5-3-1) in the Tier I qualifier.
The result set the stage for the first provincial game for the Bulldogs since the Bellerose football team was formed in 1998 after the breakup of the Bellerose-based St. Albert Storm.
“All in all, a loss is disappointing but I’m proud of the 2016 team as they played hard and overcame much adversity while showing vast improvement throughout the season,” Hill said of the ‘24 Strong’ Bulldogs.
The Paul Kane Blues wrapped up the worst season for the senior football team since the inaugural 2011 metro Edmonton campaign after losing Saturday's Tier II north semifinal to the Lloydminster Barons.
The 22-15 defeat at Johnny Bright Park left the Blues with an overall 1-7-1 record and the team’s only win was 36-6 against the last-place Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds (0-7-1) Sept. 16 in the Carr conference division one regular season.
The first year of Paul Kane football was the 0-6 showing in the Carr five years ago before the merger of the metro and Edmonton public leagues.
The Blues qualified for provincials (750 to 1,249 students) as one of the two Tier II teams in the Carr while finishing seventh out of nine teams in the conference.
The Blues also lost the Battle of St. Albert 19-0 to the Bellerose Bulldogs (5-5).
In the north semifinal, the Barons (7-3) led 14-8 at halftime with touchdowns of 34 yards on a catch and run in the first minute of the second quarter and a one-yard major with 8:03 left until halftime
The Blues got on the board with 4:55 to go before the break with a seven-yard TD and conversion.
The half ended with a single point by the Blues off a missed 18-yard field goal.
After a flag-filled first half by the Blues, the trend continued as Paul Kane finished with more penalties than points scored.
The Blues jumped ahead 15-14 with a 44-yard catch and run TD and conversion with 6:29 remaining.
After the kick-off, the Barons went two and out but on the punt the Blues were flagged for contact on the kicker and Lloydminster huddled up at its 43. The Wheatland Football League finalists then drove the ball down field with a combination of sideline passes and runs up the middle. The big play, however, was the quarterback run around the right side for a 14-yard gain to the two, where the Barons sealed the deal with the go-ahead TD with 1:58 to play. The two-point conversion was successful.
The final Tier II (750 to 1,249 students) Football Alberta rankings listed the Barons (7-3) seventh and the Blues 10th.
It’s the fourth consecutive year the Blues competed in the Tier II playdowns.
