Super Saturday The highlight of Minor Football Day in St. Albert on Saturday is the formal announcement of the renaming of the Riel Recreation Park artificial turf facility as Larry Olexiuk Field. The ceremony starts at 11:45 a.m.
Super Saturday
The highlight of Minor Football Day in St. Albert on Saturday is the formal announcement of the renaming of the Riel Recreation Park artificial turf facility as Larry Olexiuk Field.
The ceremony starts at 11:45 a.m. with the opening address and introduction of special guests by St. Albert Minor Football Association president Micah Seon-King, the naming announcement by Mayor Nolan Crouse and few words from Olexiuk.
A group photo of all the 186 SAMFA players and 52 coaches/staff with Olexiuk and Crouse will also take place at field level.
Olexiuk will be joined by his wife Colleen at the event, which also serves as SAMFA’s 55th anniversary.
Several former players from the bantam St. Albert Palmer 49ers, St. Albert Storm and Bellerose Bulldogs and current members of the Bellerose junior and senior teams who have been influenced by Olexiuk as their coach will also be in attendance.
The day-long festivities include four games involving the SAMFA peewee and bantam teams.
Kickoff times are 10 a.m. (peewee junior varsity Colts versus Edmonton Seahawks) 12:30 p.m. (bantam junior varsity Fury versus Seahawks), 3 p.m. (bantam senior varsity Palmer 49ers versus Stony Plain Bombers) and 5:30 p.m. (peewee senior varsity Riders versus Stony Plain).
Darryl Moroz is the public address announcer during Super Saturday.
Last weekend, three of the four SAMFA teams make their regular season debuts. Scores were 57-0 for the 49ers against the Leduc Ticats, 21-0 for Sherwood Park Wolverines against the Fury and 33-0 for the Leduc Wildcats against the Riders. The Colts had the bye.
Skyhawks football
The St. Albert High Skyhawks visit the Ardrossan Bisons in Thursday’s division two Miles conference opener.
Kickoff is 5 p.m. between the pool A teams.
Last year, the Skyhawks finished 4-6 overall as the Miles’ semifinalists and Tier III (450 to 749 students) provincial north finalists and the Bisons were 5-3-1 as the Miles’ finalists and Tier IV (449 or fewer students) provincial north semifinalists.
The Skyhawks huddled up last week in exhibition action against the M.E. Lazerte Voyageurs, a Gilfillan conference team in the metro Edmonton league, and won 28-7.
Christian Pulis, a Grade 12 running back and 2016 Miles conference all-star, scored two touchdowns on lengthy gallops.
A pair of blue-chip Grade 10s, Ewan Vanderheide and Jackson Ganton, contributed offensively. Vanderheide, a quarterback, ran for a major and hooked up with Ganton for a TD strike.
Dan Johnson, a Grade 12 running back and linebacker, was also a two-way threat.
Blues huddle up
The Paul Kane Blues kick-off the division two Miles conference schedule Thursday against the O’Leary Spartans in the metro Edmonton league.
Start time for the pool A teams is 5:25 p.m. at Clarke Stadium.
Last year, Paul Kane won only one game in the division one Carr conference while going 1-7-1 overall as the Tier II (750 to 1,249 students) provincial north semifinalist and O’Leary was 3-4 in the Miles.
In the preseason, Paul Kane shutout the Ardrossan Bisons 36-0.
