The Bellerose Bulldogs did the unexpected in the Battle of St. Albert.
The high school football team upset the St. Albert High Skyhawks in Thursday's 7-0 shocker at Riel Park field.
"We were the underdogs. Everyone thought we wouldn't be able to do it but we proved them wrong tonight," declared Cody Andresen, a Grade 12 playmaker who scored the only touchdown of the game on a brilliant fake field goal in the second quarter.
This year's edition of Bulldogs will always be remembered as the first senior squad from Bellerose to beat the Skyhawks.
"It's totally awesome," said an overjoyed Tayler White, arguably the player of the game.
The Bulldogs' fearless quarterback and dependable punter picked off two Mike Spagnolo passes at safety.
"I'm so happy for every single player on our team. Everybody played a big part in order for us to win," White said.
In the seven previous losses to the Skyhawks, dating back to the groundbreaking 1999 clash, the scores were 42-8, 42-22, 42-0, 60-0, 39-3, 17-2 and 38-0 in the last showdown between the rival programs in 2007.
"For us to change history means everything for the past players, current players and the coaches. It's the greatest feeling in the world," said Andresen, who did his best work at linebacker on a dominating Bellerose defence. "We came out together as a team, just like a family, and played our hardest tonight. We wanted this one all the way."
Beating the Skyhawks made the greatest triumph in team history extra special.
"Tonight we played the big boys and came away with a win," said head coach Chad Hill, his voice dripping with emotion. "I just can't believe the heart and determination the guys showed. I'm very proud of them because this was, without question, the most hyped game in the regular season that you're going to find. There was a buzz at school. It's an exciting time but it's also a lot of pressure and a lot of stress on these guys but they buckled down and got the job done against a tough team with a very tough defence."
It was now or never for the Bulldogs. They jumped up into the competitive Carr conference after posting a 6-2-1 overall record in the Miles conference with basically the same line-up intact.
"This game is one of the major reasons why we chose to come up to the Carr conference this year," Hill said. "For this group of players, this win is more important than winning the Miles conference. I really feel that if we had stayed in the Miles we would definitely be the odds-on favourite to win that division but that wouldn't mean near as much as what just happened tonight."
The biggest game of the year for both teams in the metro Edmonton league wasn't as close as the score suggests. The Bulldogs played to win while the Skyhawks looked like they were scared to lose. They were never the same after Andresen's TD and Adam Anderson's convert with 7:24 left until halftime.
"It was very important to get on the board first in this type of game," Hill said. "By getting that lead maybe they start to doubt themselves, or have that belief that the Bulldogs can play and they're here and they're for real.
"It also made the boys believe in themselves that even though we're the underdogs we can shock them. It made our boys take it the distance."
Play of the game
On third and 12 at the Skyhawks' 30, the Bulldogs lined up for a 37-yard field goal attempt by Robert Blunden. Instead of settling for three points, Hill smartly went for the fake. White, the holder, took the snap and jumped up and threw a strike to Andresen. With a defender draped on his back, Andresen cracked the goal line while being tackled.
"It's always a good call when it's executed," Hill said with a wink. "I knew this was going to be a defensive battle and I wanted to make sure we didn't wait until it was too late and they're looking for a fake. A lot of the players know Robert Blunden [3-for-3 on field goals this year] has a good, strong leg, so I figured if we did this early they're not going to be looking for it.
"All the credit to Tayler White for the beautiful ball and Cody Andresen for having a sweet set of hands. For a linebacker, he looked pretty good."
Andresen, 17, caught the ball over his shoulder with outstretched hands and without breaking stride rumbled towards the endzone.
"I thought I had it, but I honestly didn't think I would make it. I just tried my hardest to get in and when I did it was the greatest feeling ever," said the Bellerose student.
White, 17, showed remarkable poise to get the ball away before he was buried into the turf.
"I didn't even see it after I threw it. I really got lit up," said the Grade 12 Sturgeon Composite student. "It was a great call by Hill. Scoring like that gave us a lot of confidence."
The momentum-shifter fired up the Bellerose supporters with a long and loud roar that rocked the jam-packed stands.
"Did you hear the fans? That's the loudest I've ever heard this place. It gave the boys such a lift," Hill said.
The party was in full swing after White's second pick, a basket catch near midfield on an errant throw by Spagnolo with 40 seconds to play. As the Skyhawks' fans started filing out en masse, they were serenaded by chants of "Drive home safely!" by the overzealous Bellerose cheering section.
"I saw the ball up there and went for it. I couldn't believe I caught it. I looked down and when I realized the ball was in my hands, that's when I knew we had won the game," said White, 17.
His first pick was at the Skyhawks' 34 with 1:37 left until halftime, as Spagnolo threw into double coverage. Three plays later, Andre Leduc intercepted a White pass at the Skyhawks' 31 with 49 seconds on the clock.
Late in the opening quarter, Brandon Jennings reeled in a bad throw by White and rattled off a big return to the Bellerose 44. On third and three, the Skyhawks fumbled the ball away and Kieran Fraser fell on it at the 34. After going two and out, the Bulldogs punted and the Skyhawks huddled up at their 44. On first down, Spagnolo coughed up the ball in the backfield on a huge hit by Grayson Baker and Taylor Ralph was credited with the recovery at the 38. The turnover set the stage for Andresen's riveting TD.
"Our defence really showed up today and we executed when we had to," White said.
Skyhawks struggle
Offensively, the Skyhawks were a mess. They had trouble putting first downs together. The passing game was hit and miss. The ground game was hurting with Grade 12 standout Spencer Duff injured and not dressed.
"They've got some kids over there that can play defence and we knew that coming in," said Sam Johnson, the Skyhawks' head coach. "We haven't been a juggernaut on offence all year either."
A pulverizing Bellerose pass rush, airtight coverage in the secondary and gripping tackles kept the Skyhawks grounded.
"A couple of big hits on Mike really cranked up our energy," Hill said. "The turnovers the defence generated were huge, especially in the second half."
With under five minutes left in the third quarter, Spagnolo was swarmed over by the Bulldogs. The ball was knocked loose and Dan Pettey scooped it up at the Skyhawks' 37.
Early in the fourth quarter, on a long first-down pass play from the Skyhawks' 16, defensive back Ben Graunke nailed Danton Vanderheide with a hellacious hit as the Skyhawks' receiver was forced to jump high into the air for the pass from Spagnolo. Vanderheide needed several minutes to shake off the cobwebs before he was helped off the field.
"Boy, did he ever unload on Danton. That hit really cranked up the heat. It was uplifting for our sideline because we were struggling to pick up first downs and move the chains and our defence might have been looking tired at that time," Hill said.
The Skyhawks would go on to make two first downs, but on second and nine from the Skyhawks' 40, Fraser grabbed the legs of running back Phil Thibodeau for a loss, forcing the Skyhawks to punt with under seven minutes left in the game.
With time running out on the Skyhawks, Spagnolo faked a punt and threw deep to Leduc, but he was well defended and the pass failed to click and the Bulldogs took over possession at the Skyhawks' 54.
"The second half was probably the turning point of the game because we showed them how much we wanted it," Andresen said. "Our goal was just to shut everything down. We had a few missed assignments but we played hard as a team together."
After the post-game handshakes and team pray, Johnson summed up the loss.
"It was a heck of a ball game," he said. "We knew they were a good football team and the odds said they are going to beat us eventually but it's not the end of our season."
Johnson was asked if the result would have been different if Grade 12 linebacker Tanner Doll had played. He was ejected from the Skyhawks' last game and the metro league suspended the team's best player for one game.
"I won't speculate on that. Does he make us a better ball team? Of course he does, but we had kids step up. Brett Evers played a heck of a game. Landon Wenger, who had a bum ankle all year, comes in and plays well and makes some good plays," Johnson said. "Our boys played well and I'm proud of them."
Johnson also dodged a question about whether the Skyhawks could recover from the humbling loss to their crosstown rivals.
"I'm not going to speculate on that. We've always said this is just another step to where we want to go. We stumbled a little bit now but it's no more or no less disappointing or devastating than any other loss we've ever had," Johnson said. "Chad is doing some good things with the Bellerose program and we're doing some good things over here too. We're going to come to practice Monday and get our nose to the grindstone and get after it."
The next game for the Skyhawks (2-1) is Thursday against the Salisbury Sabres (2-1) at 7:30 p.m. at Sherwood Park.
Upcoming for the Bulldogs (2-1-1) is the bye week. They don't play until Oct. 21, when they host the Sabres at 7:30 p.m. at Riel Park.
"This win is the next step in our season. We've got to get more and more wins until the playoffs. We've got to get a run going," White said.
