Dropped balls, penalties and turnovers didn’t stop the Sturgeon Spirits from recording the first division three Gilfillan conference victory in the team’s inaugural metro Edmonton football season.
Grade 11 quarterback Zach Froese completed 12 of 24 passes for 165 yards and one touchdown and gobbled up 80 yards on nine runs in Thursday’s 26-7 victory over the Holy Trinity Trojans at Larry Olexiuk Field.
Sturgeon led 18-1 at halftime.
“We had some really positive things to take away from the game but we have to be more disciplined with ball security and avoid costly penalties. Many of those issues arise out of inexperience,” said head coach Chad Hill, noting Sturgeon lost four fumbles and an opening play 25-yard Nathan Brake run was brought back for holding.
However, the win came with a price as Brake suffered a lower-body injury midway in the second quarter after catching two passes for 38 yards. The Grade 12 standout also ran for 30 yards on three carries, including an end-around from the two to make it 6-1.
Brake was nicked up after snagging a short Froese pass and weaved down the field for more than 30 yards.
Brake is questionable for Thursday’s contest against the Beaumont Bandits (1-1). Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. in St. Albert.
Slotback Chase Kobza picked up the slack in Brake’s absence with key plays on offence, defence and special teams.
Kobza finished the game with five catches for 60 yards, highlighted by a nine-yard TD reception in the back of the end zone before halftime.
“We expect our receivers to be the best in the league and Chase is becoming an excellent receiver but we need all the other guys to be consistent every series and every play,” Hill said. “Obviously, having Brake for the entire game would've been huge for our offence.”
Kobza also rushed for 30 yards on four carries and late in the game he capped off a short drive with a four-yard TD. Froese hooked up with Kyle Phillips for the two-point conversion.
The Trojans (1-1) opened the scoring with a punt single through the end zone on their first possession.
On the next series, Sturgeon was pinned deep after an ineligible block and gave the ball back to the Trojans inside the 35 but the defence, led by halfback Kolby Phillips, forced the visitors to turn the ball over on downs.
A long run by Brake, a couple of completions by Froese to his receivers, including a tipped-ball circus catch by Brake set up first and goal from the two for Brake to cross the goal line.
On the next couple of drives, Kolby Phillips and Marc LeBlanc, who moved down from safety to linebacker because of injuries, made the lion’s share of the tackles in support of the offensive unit during a sequence of fumbles and dropped balls. LeBlanc’s fumble recovery paved the way for Dylan Young’s 10-yard TD scamper. Young was credited with 30 rushing yards on four carries and was on the receiving end of five passes for 60 yards.
Down by 17 points at the break, the Trojans scored on their second drive of the half after marching the ball on the ground during a seven-play, 60-yard drive.
Penalties and fumblitis continued to haunt Sturgeon until Kobza’s second TD sealed the deal.
The game ended with defensive lineman Alex Herard smothering a loose ball after joining forces with Zach Roberts to tag-team the quarterback as the Trojan tried to corral an errant snap.
THIRD DOWN: On the injury front, nose tackle Sean Watson was injured in the fourth quarter and will not play Thursday.
Offensive/defensive lineman Addison Chaabane is also questionable for Thursday because of an upper-body injury in the 33-28 season-opening loss to the Ardrossan Bisons (2-0) that kept him out of the lineup against the Trojans.
Linebacker Carson Antoniuk also sat out the win with a lower-body injury and will likely be sidelined for two weeks.
Linebacker Nathan Kipling will miss the remainder of the regular season and possibly longer with a spiral fracture.
Running back Colten Brenneis was unable to dress against the Trojans because of a lingering lower–body injury but will huddle up Thursday.
Defensive end Karl Haas needs surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered during the midget spring league season with the St. Albert Storm and will go under the knife in November.
