The latest statement game for the second-year Sturgeon football team is another biggie.
Friday’s clash with the St. Albert High Skyhawks in pool A of the division two Miles/division three Gilfillan conference also has potential provincial playdown implications as both teams are listed in the Football Alberta Tier III (450 to 749 students) rankings. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Larry Olexiuk Field.
“We’re excited. It will be a good game,” said Karl Haasz, a Grade 12 defensive end with the Sturgeon Spirits. “We have to hit them hard.”
The Skyhawks haven’t been seriously challenged for the metro Edmonton league’s Tier III provincial berth the last four years and the arrival of Sturgeon on the football scene means more competition for provincial representation.
“We’ve been playing good as a team. We’re ready to go,” said Haasz of the sixth-ranked Sturgeon squad that is 3-1 (111 PF/50 PA) in league play.
The Skyhawks – last year’s finalists in the Miles that finished 8-3 overall after losing the Tier III north final to the Holy Rosary Raiders of Lloydminster for the fourth consecutive time with a trip to the Alberta Bowl on the line – are 4-1 (179 PF/42 PA) as the fifth-ranked Tier III team in the province.
“They are very talented,” said Grade 12 quarterback Zach Froese. “They’re very good on defence and we're going to try and see what holes they have and hopefully exploit them. It’s going to be a tough game.”
Sturgeon, the Gilfillan finalist during a successful 6-2 inaugural campaign, is the winner of three in a row after losing the season opener 28-7 to the Paul Kane Blues (4-0), ranked ninth in Tier II (750 to 1,249 students).
“It was a rocky start, but we came together as a team. We also got a couple guys off injuries after week one and that helped,” Froese said.
The turnaround started, “With guys coming up to the competition we saw in week one. There is quite a big difference between the Gilfillan and Miles. Lots of guys realize that and we stepped up to the plate and have done quite well since,” said Froese, one of 19 returnees on the roster.
Sturgeon is in great shape to finish top three in pool A for a spot in the Miles’ playoffs in this year’s new format to determine the playoff teams in both conferences.
Sturgeon’s last game before the playoffs is against the toothless McNally Tigers (1-2) Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. in St. Albert.
“What we’ve said all season is all gas, no brakes. No matter who we’re playing, no matter what the score is you go 100 per cent every play. Whether you’re down by 40 or up by 40, just keep going, keep doing your job to the best of your abilities and if we do that all the way through, we have a good chance to win,” Froese said.
The largest margin of victory so far was 49-0 against the winless Beaumont Bandits (“We did everything good. There were no screw-ups,” Haasz said.), a team Sturgeon beat by 30 points in the Gilfillan semifinals. However, the best of the three wins was 30-15 against the Strathcona Lords, a 2-4 division one Carr conference tem last year, in the bounce-back game after the Paul Kane loss.
“Even if our offence wasn't clicking that much, our defence came up and made plays and it showed in that game,” Froese said. “Last year we had mostly offence without the defence, but this year even when the offence isn't clicking we have the defence to make plays.”
Haasz noted Sturgeon’s lineup is more experienced this year.
“We’re better just with the Grade 12s because we didn't have many Grade 12s last year. This year we have a big team of seniors that are carrying the team and helping out all the rookies,” said Haasz.
The former senior team Bellerose Bulldog in Grade 10 spent the last year and a half rehabbing a torn ACL and meniscus in his left leg after suffering the injury in a midget spring league practise with the St. Albert Storm in 2018.
“I just planted it weirdly and it snapped on me,” said Haasz, who watched the first season of Sturgeon football from the sideline. “It sucked. I wish I was out there.
“It was hard, but it made me better because it made me go to the gym which I probably would have never done. It made me think about sports and how important it is to me.”
Haasz, 17, was officially deemed good to go against Strathcona.
“I was kind of scared, but I did some weird (stuff) to it so I feel more confident with it now. It feels good,” said the resident of Mearns, a hamlet near Riviere Que Barre.
Haasz’s return bolstered the defensive unit, as did the addition of Kalem Steurmer, a tackling machine at linebacker who made his Sturgeon debut against Strathcona as an athletic transfer from Fort Saskatchewan and last year was a Metro Athletics All-Star and All-Edmonton Gilfillan Team selection with the Sting.
“Defence is doing amazing right now. Everything is good,” said Haasz, who fills in at linebacker when needed.
Offensively, the straw that stirs the drink is Froese, last year’s recipient of the Gilfillan most valuable player award. The latest Miles’ stats on the metro Edmonton website list Froese as the top passer with 41 completions out of 77 attempts for 589 yards, five TDs and two interceptions and he is the team leader in yards rushing with 219 on 24 carries for two TDs.
Froese, 17, also lines up at outside linebacker and is the team’s punter.
“We don't have as many of the veterans in the receiving core as we did last year so my passing numbers haven't been the best,” Froese said. “We have a better O-line this year so our running game has been better for sure and my rushing yards have shown that.
“Defensively I’ve improved a lot, too.”
