Skyhawks No. 2
The St. Albert High Skyhawks are the second-best Tier III team in Week 5 of the Football Alberta rankings after a fourth victory without a loss in the division two Miles conference.The Skyhawks (164 PF/12 PA) trampled the winless McNally Tigers 51-6 Friday at Larry Olexiuk Field after posting consecutive shutouts against a pair of Tier II (750 to 1,249 students) teams in the Miles by margins of 44 points against the Archbishop Jordan Scots (3-1) and 29 points against the Paul Kane Blues (2-2).
The Cochrane Cobras, winners of four straight Alberta Bowl championships and five in the last six years, are No. 1 in Tier III (450 to 749 students) and the Skyhawks are the only metro Edmonton team ranked in the top 10.
The Skyhawks lost the 2012 Alberta Bowl to Cochrane 31-20 at Foote Field.
Friday at 5 p.m. the Skyhawks host the St. Francis Xavier Rams (1-2) in the third-last game in the Miles before the Oct. 26 semifinals.
The final is Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Commonwealth Stadium.
Two for Sturgeon
The second win in a row for the first-year Sturgeon Spirits was last week’s 47-12 thumping of the Beaumont Bandits in the division three Gilfillan conference.The offence was firing on all cylinders as the Spirits led 33-3 at halftime at Larry Olexiuk Field.
Beaumont (1-2) scored on its first drive of the third quarter and the Spirits answered. At quarter time it was 40-9.
Nathan Brake racked up four touchdowns, and Zach Froese completed 20 of 31 passes for close to 440 yards and six TDs – three to Brake with the longest about 20 yards, an 87-yarder to William Campbell, a screen pass to Dylan Young for around 40 yards and Austin Burko snagged a tipped ball in the end zone from 11 yards out.
Campbell led all receivers with 222 yards on nine grabs and Brake caught four for close to 70 yards and also rushed for a TD from the one.
“This was the most complete game that we have played all season. We scored on the opening drive and never looked back,” said head coach Chad Hill of the 2-1 Spirits. “Our passing game clicked and that was really the difference. We also avoided costly penalties and played disciplined football throughout four quarters.
“Everyone who was in uniform got in the game and contributed to the win. We have lots of positives to take away from this game.”
Addison Chaabane returned to the lineup after suffering a lower-body injury in the season-opening 33-28 loss to the Ardrossan Bisons (3-0) and was a physical force in the trenches as a two-way lineman.
The second-last game in the metro Edmonton league’s regular season is 5 p.m. on Friday against the host Fort Saskatchewan Sting (2-1) and last year’s champions.
The Gilfillan playoffs start Oct. 18. All six teams qualify and the top two receive first-round byes.
The final is Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. at Commonwealth Stadium.
Blues huddle up
The Paul Kane Blues will carry a winless record into its next game when the division two Miles conference team tackles the Leduc Tigers.Friday’s kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. at Emerald Hills.
Paul Kane is 2-2 and Leduc is 1-2.
Paul Kane is looking for a bounce-back effort from last week’s 42-27 loss to the M.E. Lazerte Voyageurs (3-1) at Clarke Stadium. Paul Kane trailed 21-14 at halftime and 28-27 with about two minutes to go in the back-and-forth affair.
In the Football Alberta rankings, Paul Kane is not listed in the Tier II (750 to 1,249 students) top 10 for the second week in a row.
The No. 5 Austin O’Brien Crusaders (3-1) in the division one Carr conference and the No. 10 Archbishop Jordan Scots (3-1) of the Miles are the only metro Edmonton teams ranked.
Bellerose football
Two winless teams in the division one Carr conference go head-to-head Thursday, when the Bellerose Bulldogs visit the Bev Facey Falcons in Sherwood Park.Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. at Emerald Hills.
Facey is 0-4 (35 PF/139 PA) and Bellerose is 0-3 (11 PF/139 PA).
Bellerose is coming off Friday’s 31-2 loss to the Spruce Grove Panthers (2-2) at Larry Olexiuk Field.
Bellerose has two games remaining after the Facey contest before the playoffs start Oct. 26, and six out of nine Carr teams qualify.
Meanwhile, the junior Bulldogs (1-1) played the O’Leary Spartans (0-2) Tuesday in St. Albert but the score was unavailable at press time.
The first win for the juniors was 42-14 over the visiting Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds (1-1) last week in St. Albert.
The next game is Oct. 10 against the Salisbury Sabres (1-0) at 5 p.m. at Emerald Hills.
Arden Biesinger leads the juniors in rushing with 278 yards on 25 carries and four touchdowns.
Tristan Olenick is 19-for-39 passing for 249 yards and two TDs.
Biesinger and Dorian Therqaj have caught TD passes and Therqaj is also the top receiver with 168 yards on eight grabs.
Owen Fradette has recorded a team-high 22 tackles, followed by 12 for Taylor Schwam and 10 for Ethan Bangs and Benjamin Laycock.
