The Bellerose Bulldogs and the Paul Kane Blues are on a collision course in the metro Edmonton junior playoffs.
If the Blues beat the Bev Facey Falcons on Monday they would square-off against the Bulldogs, the two-time defending division one champions, in the Oct. 29 semifinals.
Last week the Bulldogs bested the Blues 28-17 in a thriller in front of a huge crowd at Riel Recreation Park.
Kickoff between the Blues and Facey is 7:30 p.m. at Clarke Park and admission is $5.
The Blues (3-2) placed third in pool B after Wednesday’s 43-1 rout of the O’Leary Spartans (1-4) in Edmonton.
Facey (3-2) finished in a three-way tie for second in pool A.
The Bulldogs and Jasper Place Rebels earned first-round byes with 5-0 records in their respective pools.
The last game for the Bulldogs in pool B was Wednesday’s 50-6 bashing of the Memorial Marauders (2-3) in Spruce Grove. It was 30-6 at halftime.
The Bulldogs were led by quarterback Jaedon Carroll’s three rushing touchdowns. Defensive end Jake MacKay had a pick-six and Colton Meronyk, Zach Nuttall and Terrell Peters also ran wild for TDs.
It was the 21st straight win for the junior program at Bellerose, which also draws players from Sturgeon Composite High School. The last loss for the juniors was the 2011 premier semifinal to Facey.
The division one final is Nov. 6.
The third win in four games for the Blues was highlighted by Keaton Zaychkowsky’s three TDs on runs of 23, 65 and 20 yards. He rushed for 185 yards overall on nine carries.
Matt Schaaf was the leading receiver with 100 yards on two TD catches in the second quarter on pass plays of 70 yards from Anthony Beaulieu and 30 yards from Zaychkowsky.
It was 36-1 at halftime and O’Leary’s only point was off a missed 27-yard field goal late in the first quarter.
Jamison Enger’s five-yard TD run, set up by a nifty 12-yard guard-around run by offensive lineman Brandon Crisp on the previous play, closed out the scoring.
Linebacker A.J. Hambly recorded five tackles and three assists, Wyatt Bates and Sam Lee both had quarterback sacks and Damon Stembiski picked off a pass.
In the second quarter, the defence forced O’Leary to concede a safety, Nathan Klassen blocked a field goal attempt and Connor Graham recovered a fumble.
Friday’s score between the Harry Ainlay Titans and Jasper Place Rebels determined if the Bellerose Bulldogs huddle up Friday or Oct. 30 in the Carr division one playoffs.
The score between Ainlay (4-2) and Jasper Place (3-3) was unavailable at press time.
A win by Ainlay would drop the Bulldogs (5-2) into a third-place tie with the Salisbury Sabres and Bellerose would play Friday at 5 p.m. at Clarke Park.
A win by Jasper Place would secure a first-round bye for the Bulldogs and a berth in the Oct. 30 semifinals.
The final is Nov. 8 at Foote Field. Admission for all playoff games is $5.
The last game before the playoffs for the Bulldogs was Thursday’s first-place showdown against the Bev Facey Falcons in Sherwood Park.
The Bulldogs gave up a pick-six midway through the second quarter, a touchdown late in the first half and on the opening drive of the third quarter a TD off an option play in the 21-0 loss.
The Bulldogs played a strong, physical game on defence but missed opportunities resulted in the team’s second loss in a row. Plays were there to be made on offence and special teams but the Bulldogs failed to capitalize. They had a second and goal from the one and took an offside penalty and on the next play Facey stuffed them at the one.
In the Tier I (1,250-plus students) Football Alberta rankings Facey is fifth, Ainlay is sixth and the Bulldogs are seventh.
The Paul Kane Blues will play the waiting game to see who they would tackle in the Miles division two playoffs.
The defending champions will play the winner of Tuesday’s opening round contest between the St. Albert High Skyhawks (3-3) and Ardrossan Bisons (2-4). Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Clarke Park.
Friday’s semifinal starts at 5 p.m. at Foote Field. The final is Nov. 1. Playoff admission is $5.
The Blues (6-0) finished on top of the standings for the second year in a row. Their last game before the playoffs was Thursday’s 73-8 drubbing of the W.P. Wagner Warriors (1-5) at Riel Recreation Park. It was 42-8 at halftime.
It was the Tanner Buchanan show as the Grade 11 receiver hooked up with quarterback Brendan Guy for touchdowns of 24, 35, 10 and 55 yards.
Kelly Repato also caught two TDs of 42 and 30 yards and Aidan Mueller had a 30-yard TD grab.
Guy was 13-for-23 passing for 256 yards and one interception.
The Blues also rushed for 310 yards on 28 carries. Kieran Porter racked up 127 yards on 13 handoffs and scored from the one. Brandon Smith gained 111 yards on six carries and Guy added 52 yards on eight runs and cracked the goal line from the two.
The defence picked off an amazing seven passes. Mueller had a pick-six and Ty Beck, Martin Kolacz, Josh Freeman, Sean Bird, Isaiah Ansah and Mike Webb had the other interceptions.
The Skyhawks closed out the regular season with an 8-7 loss to the O’Leary Spartans (5-1) Thursday at Johnny Bright Park.
In the Football Alberta rankings, the Blues are second in Tier II (750 to 1,249 students) and the Skyhawks are fifth in Tier III (450 to 749 students).
The Skyhawks will represent the metro Edmonton league in the Tier III provincial playdowns and will play the Mighty Peace rep in the north semifinals Nov. 8 in Edmonton.
A playoff repeat for the Blues would punch their ticket into the Tier II north semifinals Oct. 8 in Edmonton.
Last year the Blues finished 10-1 overall and their only loss was 32-0 in the Tier II north final against the Austin O’Brien Crusaders, a Carr division one team.
