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Paul Kane pushes towards playoffs

Paul Kane football team undefeated with two games left before playoffs kick off

The revved-up Paul Kane Blues are in the driver’s seat while racing toward the playoffs in metro Edmonton football.

“We can’t lay off the gas. We’ve got two more games so hopefully we’ll go 6-0 going into playoffs,” said Roka Phalen-Baker, a multi-purpose Grade 12 wideout, cornerback and kick returner.

Friday’s surprisingly tight 14-12 affair with the O’Leary Spartans at Larry Olexiuk Field pushed the undefeated Boys in Blue closer to finishing first in pool A of the division two Miles/division three Gilfillan conference.

“Everybody is stoked,” said Grade 12 lineman Nic Stec. “We’re very prideful that we’ve made it this far.”

Paul Kane is slotted ninth in week five of the Football Alberta Tier II (750 to 1,249 students) rankings as the only Miles/Gilfillan team in the top 10 and is also the second metro Edmonton rep behind the No. 7-ranked Austin O’Brien Crusaders, 3-2 in the division one Carr conference.

“We’re a good football team. Everyone contributes,” Phalen-Baker said.

Paul Kane will challenge for the Miles’ championship after missing the playoffs last year at 3-3-1 and wins against the punchless Beaumont Bandits (0-4) Friday at 8 p.m. at Foote Field and the Strathcona Lords (1-2-1) Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Clarke Stadium would guarantee a first-round bye.

“We’re going to have a tough couple of weeks of practice and touch up some things,” Phalen-Baker said. “It’s going to be good. We’ll be ready to go.”

Not taking your opponent lightly will be the major topic of discussion at practice after Paul Kane almost gassed a winnable game against O’Leary (1-3-1) after leading 14-6 at halftime.

“We could’ve done better as in more effort, more focus and more intensity,” said Stec, a tenacious two-way guard and defensive end. “We didn’t have our heads into practice the whole week. We were kind of like goofing off because we were thinking we were going to be winning all the time.

“We kind of dropped the ball by not really taking it as serious as we did in the first couple of games,” Stec added. “Some people said we were going to crush them and I said that you can never be sure. You always have to be ready for a fight.”

O’Leary was coming off losses in a four-day span of 25-7 to the second-year Sturgeon Spirits (3-1) and 25-0 to the St. Albert High Skyhawks (4-1).

“Our coach (Rob Strecker) told us it was going to be a tough game, they hit hard and they’re playing for their playoff lives and he was right. It was a super physical game, but overall we did the job,” Phalen-Baker said.

Paul Kane fell behind early on the pick-six thrown by quarterback Jacob King on first down at the O’Leary 53 during the team’s second possession.

Paul Kane replied with a 75-yard scoring drive with first downs by Dan Mercado’s 24-yard run and Will Mah’s 16-yard reception in tight coverage before King unleashed a floater for the uncovered Phalen-Baker to glide under in front of the team’s bench and the sideline catch and run evened the count at six with 2:04 left in the first quarter.

“It was good to get back into it after we gave them the pick-six,” Phalen-Baker said of the 35-yard TD on second down and 10. “We ran one of our plays we’ve been working on this last week and I guess (the coaches) saw the corner was biting and we ran the route and I was wide open.”

In the second quarter, Paul Kane huddled up in excellent field position after O’Leary punted from deep in its end and pass completions to Ryan Holmes and Phalen-Baker put the ball at the eight, but on third and two King was stopped short of a first down.

O'Leary would eventually punt and a solid return by Phalen-Baker ended with O’Leary flagged 15 yards for an overzealous tackle out of bounds.

On first and goal at the seven, King hooked up with Phalen-Baker in the endzone and what looked like a TD was waved off.

“I made a good break, I was wide open and I thought I made the catch, but I guess they said I didn’t have control of the ball,” Phalen-Baker said.

On the next play, King rolled out to his left and spotted Ty Bates in the back of the endzone with 1:53 left in the half. King’s two-point conversion pass to Phalen-Baker was also successful

In the last minute before halftime, a long ball to Phalen-Baker was tipped by the defender in coverage for the interception in O’Leary territory and on the next play Mah stepped in front of a pass around midfield.

“They were making it tough on us,” said Stec, 17.

The third quarter was scoreless despite Paul Kane turning the ball over on downs at the O’Leary 29 as King’s pass completion to Mah was just short of the first down marker.

“It was a defensive battle on both ends,” Phalen-Baker said.

Before quarter time, a fake punt caught Paul Kane by surprise and from the O’Leary 46 the visitors pushed forward with quality yardage running and passing the ball. A third and six completion to the Paul Kane five was followed by O’Leary’s run-scoring major with 9:51 to play.

“They were moving the ball really well and we couldn’t stop their running back,” Phalen-Baker said.

On the two-point conversion, Paul Kane stopped the run up the gut attempt just short of the goal line.

“Everyone was getting bagged on defence, but we shut them down. Our guys on the line did a really great job on that play,” Phalen-Baker said.

Down by two points, a series of ill-timed penalties pushed O’Leary from the Paul Kane 47 back to its 39 and with under three minutes to go was forced to punt.

On the last possession for O’Leary, after King was tackled short of a first down on a fake punt, it was second and 13 from the O’Leary 49 and as the pocket was collapsing around the quarterback, Phalen-Baker looked like a centre-fielder snaging a pop fly in the outfield to seal the deal with 38 ticks on the clock.

“It was a great feeling. I saw the quarterback was half getting sacked and I knew he wasn’t going to get a lot on the ball so I jumped up and got the ball and it put the game in the bag. Everybody was super happy.”

Phalen-Baker, 17. has been good as advertised as an athletic talent in his first season of football.

“Strecker has been on me since Grade 10 to play football. (I told him) I’m not a football player, but this year he finally got me out to spring camp and I absolutely loved it,” said the basketball standout with a strong volleyball background. “Football has been super good. It’s so much fun.”

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