Johnny Bright Park – The exclamation mark to a season of excellence for the St. Albert Fury was Sunday’s championship victory in the Capital District Minor Football Association.
The Fury finished 9-0 overall after defeating the resilient Wetaskiwin Warriors 34-19 in the bantam Tier 3 final.
“The coaching staff is very proud of the players’ hard work this season. They deserve all the credit for our success,” said a drenched Martin Quirk, head coach of the Fury, after the celebratory Gatorade shower at the end of the game.
To go wire to wire undefeated was extra special for the Fury.
“That’s even better. It just adds icing to the cake,” said Dan Johnson, a Grade 9 running back and halfback who described the thrill of victory as ‘amazing’.
“I’ve never won a championship before so this is probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced.”
Visit www.stalbertgazette.com to view the team’s trophy picture.
The Fury roster featured 11 players from last year’s Tier 1 finalists and provincial semifinalists.
So why were the Fury so good?
“Leadership had to do with it and everybody worked as a team too,” said Jake Strakowicz, a Grade 9 slotback and cornerback.
Johnson added: “It’s teamwork and family. That’s all it is with the Fury.”
The Warriors (6-3) were a handful for the Fury with only 19 players dressed.
“They gave us everything they had. They’re a great football team but we came out on top,” Johnson said. “We just worked our hardest and that’s what got it done for us.”
Ironically, the Fury kicked off the season with a 32-26 decision against the Warriors in St. Albert.
The rematch was closer than the score suggests.
“This had to be our toughest game of the season,” Strakowicz said. “This year has been a little easier on us but we do practise hard and we do play hard.”
The Warriors opened the scoring after stopping the Fury on downs at the Wetaskiwin 31. A 38-yard run to the Fury 10 led to a touchdown from the one and the convert was good with 1:31 left in the first quarter.
On the Fury’s next possession, the run-oriented offence pushed the Warriors back to their nine but the defence stood tall on third and goal.
The Fury’s defence then forced a two-and-out and on the punt Simon Lessard blocked the low kick and Johnson fell on the ball at the seven. Johnson then drove the ball into the endzone and Jesse Stuht’s convert tied it up with 8:12 to go before halftime.
Less than a minute later, the Warriors replied with a 48-yard catch and run for the go-ahead TD but the convert attempt was unsuccessful.
After the kick off, the Fury need only a couple of plays to regain the lead when Adam Bochar busted loose from the Wetaskiwin 42 and Stuht converted the TD to make it 14-13 with 6:46 to play in the half.
“It was difficult at first but then it got better for us,” said Strakowicz, 14. “They came out and played hard but we started a spark that led us to the victory.”
The Fury dug in defensively on the next series by the Warriors as Johnson buried a player in the backfield for a six-yard loss at the Fury 49 and on third down and 16 two defenders combined to knock down a pass in front of the receiver.
With under two minutes to play before halftime, after a bad snap with the Warriors in punt formation gave the Fury the ball at the Wetaskiwin 35, Stuht was stopped just short of a first down on the quarterback keeper on third and six.
Back on defence the Fury forced the Warriors to turn the ball over on downs at their 35. On first down Strakowicz made a basket catch behind coverage and was tackled at the four. After an illegal procedure flag nullified Stuht’s four-yard TD run, he hooked up with Strakowicz for a six-yard TD strike as the Lorne Akins student was left uncovered in the endzone with 5.7 ticks on the clock. Stuht’s convert left the Fury in control at 21-13.
“It felt great but I was nervous. I’m not good in hard situations like that,” Strakowicz said of his TD grab.
Early in the third quarter, some big gains by Johnson and Stuht led to a 26-yard TD run by the Stuht on third and six. His convert shook the crossbar with eight minutes left until quarter time and the Fury in front 27-13.
On the kick off, Stuht recovered his own kick and the Fury proceeded to methodically drive the ball down field from the Wetaskiwin 53 behind a stacked offensive line. A couple of third-down conversions paved the way for Bochar to enter the endzone from the one and Stuht’s convert with 3:37 remaining in the quarter padded the lead to 34-13.
The Fury’s ability to grind out yardage was major factor in the win.
“There were a lot of direct snaps to the running back and to the quarterback because our main play was just running up the middle but we tried to get everyone in on the ball,” said Johnson, 14, who finished the game with 125 yards on 21 carries, plus two tackles.
Stuht was credited with 118 yards on 14 carries and was two-for-three passing. He also led the team in tackles with 11 from his safety position, including a TD-saving tackle on a 40-yard pass and run to the Fury 20 late in the quarter.
Bochar had seven carries for 75 yards and added three tackles.
The defence was led by Dwight Kohl’s nine tackles and a sack, Ethan Brandsma recorded seven tackles, one sack and recovered a fumble at the Fury 29 on the opening series by the Warriors.
Jared Koziol closed out the win with an interception after registering four tackles.
The last TD for the Warriors was 22-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter.
Johnson, 14, described the victory as a total team effort.
“I don’t think there was really a key play but I think just every single play contributed. Everyone did their best. We all left it out on the field and I think that’s the main reason we won,” said the student at St. Edmunds School in Edmonton.
