The Battle of St. Albert playoff edition will shake, rattle and roll Friday night at Johnny Bright Park. The Paul Kane Blues and St. Albert High Skyhawks exchange pleasantries in the division two Miles conference semifinal at 6 p.m. The winner advances to the Nov. 3 final at 5 p.m. at Commonwealth Stadium. The Blues were Miles champions with undefeated records in 2013 and 2014 before a stint in the division one Carr conference ended with this year’s return to the Miles. The Skyhawks were Miles’ finalists in 2015. The last time two St. Albert teams squared-off in the metro Edmonton playoffs was 2012 and the Skyhawks beat the Bellerose Bulldogs 28-8 in the Carr semifinal. It was also the last year before the merger of the metro and Edmonton public leagues. The first showdown between the Blues and Skyhawks since 2014 was 43-30 for the Blues on Sept. 29. The halftime sore was 36-14. The Blues also dominated the Skyhawks 78-14 in 2013 and 56-0 in 2014 after Paul Kane formed its own football program in 2011after providing players to the Skyhawks based at St. Albert Catholic High School. Monday’s pool A and B crossover quarter-final results for both teams at Emerald Hills Recreational Park were 33-0 for the Blues (6-1) over the Leduc Tigers (2-5) and a stunning late-play 31-29 victory for the Skyhawks (5-2) over the McNally Tigers (4-3). Full details were not available at press time but apparently McNally was leading in the last minute of play with the ball inside its five-yard line when panic set in. Instead of the quarterback attempting to knee it out to kill the clock or even give up a safety while running around in the endzone to end the game, McNally turned the ball over to the Skyhawks at the one with basically a tick on the clock. A shovel pass to DeAmonte Overman by quarterback Ewan Vanderheide with a defender in his face completed the astonishing turn of events. Meanwhile, the Blues have surrendered only nine points in their last four games after posting their second consecutive shutout and the offence has average 40.25 points per game during that span. Entering the semifinal, the Blues are winners of five in a row and the Skyhawks are victorious in their last three games. Both teams have also qualified for their respective provincial playdowns starting Nov. 11. In Tier II (750 to 1,249 students), the No. 7-ranked Blues are the second metro reps in the north semifinals and will play the No. 1-ranked St. Joseph’s Celtics, last year’s Alberta Bowl finalists, in Grande Prairie. In Tier III (450 to 749 students), the No. 4-ranked Skyhawks are expected to line up against No. 8-ranked Peace Wapiti Academy Titans in Grande Prairie. The Skyhawks and Ardrossan Bisons, a Tier IV (449 or less students) team last year, were the only Tier III teams in the Miles this year and the Skyhawks beat the Bisons 21-9 in the season opener.
