Fort Saskatchewan – Playing from behind for most of Saturday’s final left the St. Albert Riders trailing the Calgary Wildcats in the race to the finish line for the Football Alberta Tier I peewee championship.
The Riders evened the score at 16 late in the third quarter after the Wildcats ran for touchdowns on their first offensive play of the game and third offensive series before the opening quarter ended.
However, the undefeated Wildcats pulled away with extra effort in the fourth quarter for the 26-16 victory at Taurus Field.
“We got really close but they just got lucky at the end,” said Josh Mah, a Grade 7 running back and defensive end after the first loss of the season for the Riders.
The Wildcats bounced back from the game-tying TD by quarterback James Hill of 15 yards and Alex Braden’s two-point conversion kick with 1:09 left in the third quarter by marching the ensuing kickoff 60 yards for the go-ahead score 66 seconds into the fourth quarter as Given Kambata covered 26 yards for his third TD of the game. All three scores for the Wildcats were converted by kicks for two points.
Up 24-16, the Wildcats punted the ball out of bounds at the Riders’ six and on second and three Hill was tackled in the end zone for the two-point safety with 7:09 to play.
“The difference in the match is when they got the safety. I think it turned the mood for our team and we just started to give up a little,” said Jamie Clark.
The Grade 7 defensive back lit a fire under the Riders with an electrifying 100-yard pick-six down the left hash marks with 1:41 to go before halftime. Braden’s two-point conversion kick was good.
“When I got that touchdown, I didn’t care if it was 100 yards. I was just trying to set the mood for our team. I was just trying to get things back up and going so we can play harder and it worked. We came close. It was a close game,” said Clark, 12, a William D. Cuts student who also spent time at running back.
Leading up to the interception, the Wildcats took over the ball on downs at the Calgary 42 and with under four minutes to play before halftime the Riders were flagged for unnecessary roughness for a tackle in the backfield by pair of defenders. Assistant coach Alex Lesko wasn’t thrilled with the call and voiced his displeasure while standing past the hash marks in front of the team bench and was tossed from the game.
The penalties put the Wildcats into Riders’ territory and on third and four Kambata’s 22-yard catch and dash put the Wildcats at the 15 before the drive was snuffed out by Clark’s interception.
“Both teams were pretty equal but both teams still made mistakes,” said Mah, 12. “They just had a few stronger players than us.”
The best of the bunch for the Tier I playoff winners in the Calgary Peewee Football Association was Kambata operating out of the backfield. Kambata’s 39-yard sprint around the left side opened the scoring 4:14 into the final and on a play similar to the TD gallop of 50 yards on second and 10 with 1:55 left until halftime.
With the two TDs, the Riders turned the ball over on downs in their end on the game-opening drive that started from the 28 and then with an incomplete pass on third and five and both times the Wildcats were quick to strike.
In the second half, Matty LaPierre’s fumble recovery at the Riders’ 50 on the second play from scrimmage by the Wildcats after the kickoff was another promising turnaround play, but the drive ended at the Calgary 30.
After the defensive stop, the Wildcats threatened to blow the final wide open as Kambata’s short catch and long run for 28 yards to the 36 put the Riders on their back heels. But the drive stalled and the Wildcats punted to pin the Riders deep. On first down, the Wildcats were nailed for two unnecessary roughness flags during a QB scramble by Hill and the ball was moved up to the Riders 52. The Riders started rolling and the big play of the drive was Braden stretching to reel in a throw from Hill for an 18-yard gain to the Calgary 33. Runs of 10 and seven yards by Mah set up Hill’s 15-yard TD.
Down by 10 and time winding down for the Riders, Jayden Tieulie recovered a fumble at the Calgary 15, but on third and four at the nine Hill was stopped short of a first down as the Wildcats sealed the deal with 2:14 to remaining.
“It was a disappointing loss,“ Clark said. “It would’ve been great to win this game but we played hard and that’s all we can do.”
Asked what the Riders should have done differently against the Wildcats, Mah replied: “Try and find their key players and shut them down,” said the Ecole Secondaire Saint Marguerite d’Youville student.
The Capital District Minor Football Association Tier I champions piled up 436 points and allowed only 40 against while recording five shutouts in 10 wins before the Wildcats, 11-0 overall, posted the most points by any team against the Riders.
“It was an amazing year. We went undefeated as city champs. We were one of the best St. Albert teams ever in Tier I. It just kind of sucks that we couldn’t win provincials,” said Mah of the first St. Albert peewee team to compete in the Tier I provincial final since the 2006 Football Alberta champion Riders.
