It’s the Year of Firsts for the Sturgeon Spirits.
First game, first win, first playoff spot and hopefully the first metro Edmonton championship in Sturgeon’s inaugural football season.
“For a first-year team, we’ve done pretty outstanding by the looks of it, because we’ve only lost one game so far this season. That’s pretty incredible, especially for a bunch of guys that haven’t played football before,” said Grade 11 safety Marc LeBlanc, one of 12 Spirits on the active roster who played for the junior or senior Bellerose Bulldogs last year as Sturgeon Composite High School student athletes.
“Learning the game has been our biggest improvement,” LeBlanc said of the roster of mostly football rookies. “A bunch of the newer kids didn’t know the rules and didn’t know the positions. The O-line didn’t know much and the secondary didn’t either, but we’ve got quite a bit better throughout the season, so I’m pretty proud of us.”
Sturgeon is now one win away from competing in the division three Gilfillan conference final after closing out the regular season with four victories in a row.
“We had a rough start but we pulled it together. We got all of our chemistry down, and overall we’ve finished with a pretty good season with our record of 4-1,” said Grade 11 quarterback Zach Froese. “We still need to pick apart what things we haven’t done well.”
The lone loss was the Sept. 13 season-opening 33-28 roller-coaster against the Ardrossan Bisons (5-0).
“In our first game, our chemistry wasn’t quite there, but it’s gained over the season and I think come playoff time it will be there and it will push us over the edge,” Froese said.
Sturgeon and Ardrossan received byes into the semifinals and the final is Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. at Commonwealth Stadium.
“It would definitely be cool to be in that final, but we’ve just to focus on the next week, make sure we get that game down and then just focus the final when it comes,” LeBlanc said.
Sturgeon kicks off the playoffs Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Clarke Stadium against Thursday’s winner between the Beaumont Bandits (3-2) and Eastglen Blue Devils (0-5).
Sturgeon beat Beaumont 47-12 Sept. 27 and blanked Blue Devils 73-0 last week and 48-0 in the second of two exhibition wins for the Spirits before league play started.
Eastglen failed to score a point while averaging 55.8 against in five losses, so Sturgeon is focusing its attention on Beaumont.
“The last time we played them, their starting quarterback was out because he had a concussion, but they’re a pretty well-rounded team,” LeBlanc said. "If we practice hard, we’ll put up a fight.”
Froese added: “We expect more of a passing offence next time we play them and that’s what we’re going to prepare for.”
Sturgeon wants another shot at Ardrossan and the final at the home of the Edmonton Eskimos would be the ideal setting to right a wrong.
Ardrossan battled back from a three-point deficit in the final minute to defeat Sturgeon in a playoff-calibre atmosphere with plenty of momentum shifts.
Froese’s quarterback sneak put Sturgeon on top 28-25 late in the game.
On Ardrossan’s last possession, facing third and five at the Sturgeon 40, an acrobatic catch off a tipped pass in the secondary kept the drive alive.
Ardrossan advanced the ball with a run-heavy attack against Sturgeon’s injury-riddled front seven, culminating with the go-ahead touchdown from the two.
With 20 seconds remaining, and Sturgeon deep in its end, a 40-yard completion to Kyle Phillips was followed by an incomplete pass on the last play of the game.
“Of course we would like to play them again. They got lucky with the last-minute catch and drive, and I feel if we put it all together we can beat them,” Froese said.
In week seven of the Football Alberta rankings, Ardrossan is No. 3 in Tier IV (449 or less students) and Sturgeon is No. 7 in Tier III (450 to 749 students) as the second metro Edmonton team in the top-10. The St. Albert High Skyhawks (5-1) of the division two Miles conference is No. 3.
So far, everything has come up Milhouse for Sturgeon.
“We’ve done fairly well, but we’re not going to exceed our expectations until we hit the championship game. If we win the championship, that’s exceeded our expectations,” Froese said. “We’re not quite worried about what others' expectations are as a first-year program. We just want to make it all the way.”
Froese, 16, is bringing it in a big way for Sturgeon while going 77-for-125 passing for 1,304 yards and 19 TDs while picked off twice.
Froese also leads Sturgeon in rushing with 319 yards on 38 carries.
“I’m feeling comfortable just being loose and not being tense, because if you play loose you play well,” said the 2017 junior team’s MVP at Bellerose and the starter in two Tier I (1,250-plus students) provincial north games for the senior Bulldogs as an injury replacement at QB.
“It's been a really good learning experience and I’m glad I'm progressing,” said Froese, who completed five TD passes against Eastglen for a team averaging 42.8 points per game. “It’s exceeded my expectations for my second high school season. My receivers and O-line have been terrific this year and they’ve helped me come up with the numbers I get and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings.”
Sturgeon's top receivers are William Campbell (447 yards on 27 catches), Nathan Brake (301 yards on 16 catches), Chase Kobza (204 yards on 13 catches) and Phillips (167 yards on 11 catches).
Brake’s nine TDs leads the team and Kobza has five.
The TD scorers against Eastglen were Brake, Phillips and Colten Brenneis with a pair each and singles for Campbell, Kobza and Austin Mossier-Legg.
LeBlanc, 16, also returned a pick-six 30 yards for his first interception and the team’s second in league play.
LeBlanc also ranks second in tackles with 22 and Kolby Phillips leads the way with 26.
Alex Herard has also registered four QB sacks for a defensive unit averaging 11.6 points against.
“Our D line has got a lot better. We’re getting into the backfield now. We’re putting a lot of pressure on the quarterback and running backs,” LeBlanc said. “Our secondary for the most part is holding up our end. We’re making the quarterback look for his throws and we’re giving the D line more of a chance to get through the O-line.
“Linebackers have been working really hard stopping the run too.
“We’ve really improved a lot on D.”
