The St. Albert Stars shone bright in Friday’s debut in the Alberta Football League.
And the Edmonton Stallions were literally seeing stars in the 23-1 loss at Clarke Park.
“It was a physical, hard hitting game,” said Brent Medwid, wide receiver and head of player development for the Stars. “Our defence played excellent and the O-line controlled the line of scrimmage all game.”
On the second play of the game the Stallions attempted a curl pass to a receiver, but it was intercepted by Richard Daniels and the defensive back returned it 25 yards for the first regular-season touchdown in team history.
It was also the first of five picks by the Stars, in addition to two fumble recoveries, as the Stallions repeatedly turned over the ball.
After the TD the Stallions went two and out and punted. The Stars ran back the kick to the Stallions’ 29, where quarterback Troy Pappas fired a pass to slotback Corey Treeshin in the back of the endzone.
The Stars cruised to victory after building up a 19-0 halftime lead.
“It was nice to start our first franchise season game with a win, especially against the cross-town rivals,” said Pappas, co-owner of the Stars with linebacker Mike Bryski.
Pappas, a former Bellerose Bulldog and St. Albert High Skyhawk, finished 5-for-11 for 65 yards. He was picked off twice, sacked once and scrambled for 16 yards on four runs.
Medwid led the team’s receiving corps with two catches for 14 yards.
Runningback Mike Golding gave the Stallions fits with 131 quality yards on 26 carries. His longest run from scrimmage was 15 yards.
Golding also booted two field goals, the longest from 27 yards out, and converted a TD.
Clayton Franklin added 29 yards on the ground on runs of 22 and seven yards, and Eddie Thompson gained 28 yards on three handoffs.
The Stallions struggled to put first downs together and were forced to give up two safeties.
Linebackers Keith Matches, Kory Johnson and Freddy Guay spearheaded the defensive charge. Matches was credited with seven tackles and a fumble recovery. Johnson also racked up seven tackles and picked off a pass. Guay made two tackles and intercepted the Stallions twice, with his longest return going 11 yards.
Defensive linemen CJ Auigebelle, Clayton Swereda and Arron McComish recorded one quarterback sack apiece.
McComish also forced two fumbles and Swerda, a Skyhawks’ alumnus, recovered a loose ball. Both players had three tackles each, as did defensive back Nathan Toonen.
Defensive backs Erik Kyle and Mike Mawusi did a good job of keeping the Stallions’ receivers under wraps. Kyle knocked down two passes and Mawusi had one interception and one knockdown.
The Stars showed marked improvement from their 29-27 penalty-filled exhibition win against the Central Alberta Buccaneers last month in Lacombe.
The Stars huddle up this Saturday against the Drillers in Grande Prairie at 7 p.m.
The next home game at Clarke Park is June 22 versus the Calgary Wolfpack at 2 p.m.
For team updates, visit www.stars-football.com.
The league website is www.albertafootballleague.weebly.com.
