The third annual Battle of St. Albert between the St. Albert High Skyhawks and Paul Kane Blues kicks off Thursday at 5 p.m. at Riel Recreation Park.
Admission is $5 to watch the Miles conference tilt in metro Edmonton high school football.
The Skyhawks beat the Blues 14-10 last year and 15-0 in the inaugural 2011 season of Paul Kane football after PK served as a feeder school for the junior and senior teams at St. Albert Catholic High School.
This year’s showdown features the marquee Grade 12 quarterbacks in the Miles, if not in the entire metro league, in Keith Zyla of the Skyhawks and Cory Knott of the Blues. Last year both players were their respective team’s Haliburton Trophy nominees as the Carr conference most valuable player.
In the league opener last week both teams battled back from first quarter deficits to post wins of 29-22 by the Skyhawks against the 2012 Miles champion Leduc Tigers and 35-16 by the Blues over the W.P. Wagner Warriors.
In the Football Alberta rankings the Skyhawks are No. 2 in Tier III (450 to 749 students) and the Blues are No. 9 in Tier II (750 to 1,249 students).
The Skyhawks are the 2012 Carr finalists and Tier III provincial silver medallists.
The 10th annual Ryan Burak Invitational Volleyball Tournament swings into action Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Paul Kane High School.
The high school junior draw of eight female and eight male teams includes the Paul Kane Blues’ boys and girls, Sturgeon Spirits’ boys and girls and the lady St. Albert Skyhawks.
Round robin play resumes Saturday at 8 a.m., followed by the playoffs at 12:30 p.m. The finals are 2:45 p.m. for the girls and 4 p.m. for the boys.
The tournament was established in memory of Ryan Burak, a Paul Kane grad who played three years on the senior volleyball team. He was killed by a drunk driver on Jan. 27, 2004 at the age of 20.
Friday the Bellerose Bulldogs line up against the Harry Ainlay Titans in metro Edmonton high school football.
The Carr conference kick off is 5:30 p.m. at Clarke Park. Admission is $5.
Both teams are coming off losses in the opening week of the schedule. The Bulldogs were shutout 21-0 by the Salisbury Sabres and the Titans fell 54-35 to the Spruce Grove Panthers, last year’s Edmonton public league champions and Tier I (1,250-plus students) provincial silver medallists.
