If 2013 was the Year of the Blues in high school football, what will this year be for the defending Miles division two champions and Tier II north finalists from Paul Kane? “We are approaching it as a rebuilding season,” replied head coac
If 2013 was the Year of the Blues in high school football, what will this year be for the defending Miles division two champions and Tier II north finalists from Paul Kane?
“We are approaching it as a rebuilding season,” replied head coach Rob Strecker, when the question was raised at Tuesday's fall camp at Riel Recreation Park. “We're going to take a bit of a step back, there is no denying that.”
The Blues lost only one game last year — 32-0 to the Carr division one Austin O'Brien Crusaders with a Tier II (750 to 1,249 students) provincial berth at stake — after averaging an incredible 54.4 points and only 13.8 against in 10 wins.
More than half of the star-studded Paul Kane roster has graduated and the replacements to fill roles on the senior team are returnees and last year's juniors.
“We've lost all of our key guys, there is no doubt about it, and they are going to be tough to replace but we're confident that the guys coming up and the guys that are going into their senior year will be able to step up and do the job,” Strecker said. “Size wise we're not big but we're athletic and we still have lots of skill guys but not in the same category as last year's team.”
Brendan Guy is the starting quarterback after backing up Cory Knott, the Haliburton Trophy winner as the most valuable player in Miles who rushed for a division-leading 883 yards and 16 touchdowns on 61 carries while going 82-for-140 in passing for 1,326 yards and 14 TDs in seven metro Edmonton regular-season games.
“We have an established quarterback stepping in,” Strecker said of Guy, ranked fourth in the division in passing yards with 767 while going 33-for-51 for seven TDs. “Brendan was very fortunate last year that he played behind Cory and Cory was pulled out of games at halftime the majority of the time so he got to play half the reps and that's pretty good for a kid who was in Grade 10.”
Guy's offensive weapons include Kieran Porter and Ty Beck in the backfield and receiver Shayden Phillip. The trio are returning players, with Porter (510 yards on 76 carries for 10 TDs) and Phillips entering Grade 12.
“Our philosophy is going to stay the same. We're still going to play fast again,” Strecker said of the Paul Kane trademark high-octane offence.
A sturdy offensive line will provide protection for Guy and company.
“We're excited with our line. We have a couple of our key linemen back in Zach Dreger and Julian Pawlychka so we're good there,” Strecker said.
Defence is the backbone of the Blues.
“We're looking to our defence to be our leaders this year. Defensively we have a lot of good athletes,” Strecker said. “Defence is going to hold us in games this year. I told the boys it's not like we're going to be rolling up and beating teams 78-14 (St. Albert High Skyhawks) and 80-0 (Strathcona Lords) like last year. That's not going to happen this year.”
Dreger, 16, is confident the Blues will challenge for Miles honours despite the turnover of talent.
“We're still kind of strong. Everybody thinks it's like a rebuilding year but we still have some kick so I think we'll do pretty good,” he said. “We have a pretty athletic team and we're pretty conditioned. Speed and strength will be our keys. We've got some good coaches too.”
The six-foot-one, 240-pound centre split time at guard and tackle last year as a Grade 10 starter.
“It was definitely an adjustment,” said the bantam product of the St. Albert 49ers. “It was bigger guys and a little faster pace but we had a good team and we had a good line.”
The fourth year for the Paul Kane football program kicks off Sept. 4 against the Skyhawks at 5 p.m. at Riel Recreation Park. Admission is $5.
Last year the Blues obliterated the Tier III (450 to 749 students) Skyhawks by a whopping 64 points on the strength of 11 TDs and 700 yards of total offence in the epic blowout.
Previous results were victories of 14-10 in 2012 and 15-0 in 2011 by the Skyhawks. The inaugural confrontation marked the first Battle of St. Albert between the Blues and Skyhawks after Paul Kane served as a feeder program for the St. Albert Catholic High School's junior and senior teams.
“It will be a pretty good game. I think they're a little disappointed with what happened last year so they're going to come back with a little bit more but we'll be ready,” Dreger said.
Strecker downplayed the hype surrounding the biggest game of the year in St. Albert high school football.
“It's so clichĂ© but it's true; it's one game at a time for us and it doesn't really matter who we're playing. Our first game happens to be against St. Albert High and it's a crosstown rival but it's still two points at the end of the day. Yes, there is little bit of bragging rights for St. Albert obviously between our two schools but we're just looking at them as another opponent. It's a new year and I'm sure they're thinking the same thing too,” said the third-year field general for the Blues.
