It's the year of the Bellerose Bulldogs in St. Albert high school football.
After tasting many bitter defeats against their rivals from the St. Albert High program, the Bulldogs swept the regular-season junior and senior showdowns with memorable victories to last a lifetime.
"We knew we had to win, especially after what the seniors did," said Bellerose game star Ryan Proulx after rushing for two touchdowns against his former junior team Tuesday at Riel Park field. "Our blocking was really good today. That was the difference."
The monumental 16-14 decision marked the first time in six years the Bulldogs beat the Hawks in the junior edition of the Battle of St. Albert.
"This is history for us but it's not the championship. We're in the premier playoffs and our goal is to play in the final and win the championship," head coach Chad Hill told the ecstatic Bulldogs in their post game huddle. "Let's not make the mistake that I saw this team [Hawks] make a few years ago when they went undefeated in the regular season. They beat us in the last week [60-20 in 2007, then lost the semifinal] and thought it was a championship."
A long list of losses to the Hawks were by scores of 16-8, 29-9 (2005 premier final), 20-13, 34-0 (2006 premier semifinal), 60-20, 27-3, 7-0 and 28-7.
"It was a very satisfying win," said Hill, the Dawgs' field general since the rebirth of the junior program at Bellerose in 2005. "We've had some very close games so it was great to win this one."
Playoff preview
As the Bulldogs celebrated their well-deserved triumph, the dejected-looking Hawks took the loss to heart.
"It's unbelievable the amount of disappointment right now," said a teary-eyed Nathan Pytel, a Grade 10 two-way threat at running back and linebacker for the Hawks. "All we know is we're going to see these guys in the championship and they're not going to have a chance."
The entertaining affair also decided first place in pool B in the metro Edmonton league.
"It's an awesome win. It keeps our winning streak going into the playoffs," said robo-kicker Brandon Beyette, who split the uprights in the fourth quarter to put the Bulldogs on top for good.
In Wednesday's crossover semifinals at Johnny Bright Park, the Bulldogs (3-0 in pool B; 5-0 overall) tackle the Bev Facey Falcons (3-1 in pool A; 5-1 overall) at 7:30 p.m.
Last year in the four-team conference format the Bulldogs were winless in seven games.
"I hope we win it all. This is a real good team," said Proulx, a major contributor in the backfield for last year's Hawks as the premier finalists finished 4-4 overall.
Wednesday's playoff doubleheader at Johnny Bright kicks off at 5 p.m. between the Hawks (2-1 in pool B, 3-2 overall) and Salisbury Sabres (3-1 in pool A, 4-1 overall).
The premier championship is Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Foote Field. Last year in the snow and cold the Hawks lost 10-1 to Salisbury in the final. It was the Hawks second premier final in a row and their fifth in six years.
"We definitely have a chance to go on and get a championship this year," said Pytel, one of several midget Storm players on both teams from the 2010 tier II championship winners in the Capital District Minor Football Association.
Clutch field goal
The last game before the playoffs was decided on Beyette's 17-yard field goal with 6:47 to play. The rainbow end-over-end kick floated over the crossbar as the Bulldogs roared in celebration.
"It felt great. I knew then my team won," said Beyette, 16.
The Bulldogs trailed by a point before Beyette's kick of the game.
"I knew I could do it. The coach told me to put it high and I went for it," said the Grade 11 Bulldog. "It was exciting to see it go right though the middle [of the posts]."
It was the only score in the second half after the Hawks rallied from a 13-point deficit with a pair of converted TDs.
"At the start we were all pumped up. We did really well and had a great first quarter," Proulx said. "After that our defence let up and our offence didn't do their jobs but at the end we got back into the game."
The Bulldogs drove the opening kick off 78-yards with Proulx doing most of the legwork. Key plays by the Grade 11 Bulldog included a 10-yard dash to the Bellerose 43 on second and inches and an electrifying 50-yard TD romp on a pitch play. Beyette converted the score.
"It was just a quick sweep outside. No one was really there and I was gone," Proulx said.
After the kick off, the Hawks were stopped on third and three as Marc Waddingham made the big tackle at the Bellerose 49. Three plays later, on third and two at the Hawks' 53 after a Bellerose time out, Proulx motored into the clear but was dragged down at the one. On second down he cracked the goal line. Beyette's convert was no good.
"It was a sweep but I cut back into the middle," Proulx said. "I really thought I was going to score."
The second time on offence the Hawks huddled up at their 12. After two first downs, including a third and two conversion that put them at the 23, quarterback Felix Schmidt hit a wide-open Ryan Molyneaux around midfield and the Hawks' receiver had clear sailing into the end zone. Jesse Kushneryk made the conversion with 2:22 left before quarter time.
In the second quarter, after the teams exchanged fumbles, the Hawks cashed in a turnover at the Bellerose 48 with a one-yard TD run by Pytel with 5:51 to go before the break. Kushneryk's convert made it 14-13.
Highlighting the scoring drive were sizable runs by Taylor Grover and Pytel, plus a nifty reverse to the slippery Kushneryk for 21 yards to the Bellerose one.
Late in the half, after a few first downs by the Hawks rushing the ball, they settled for a 17-yard field goal attempt by Kushneryk that was good. However the Hawks were flagged for illegal procedure. On the second try, Kushneryk was short of the posts kicking from the 23 with two ticks on the clock.
Too close to call
After the second half kickoff, the Hawks marched the ball with authority on a couple of pass completions by Schmidt and a 12-yard gain by Pytel. But on first down at the 21, a snafu on the pitch to Pytel led to a fumble recovery by Liam Gray.
After the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs at the Hawks' 25 with an incomplete pass, the hard-running Pytel was poised to go the distance down the left hash marks but a TD-saving tackle by Dallas Moroz at the Bellerose 44, plus an offside penalty against the offence, left the Hawks reeling. They later punted after Moroz dropped a sure interception on second down.
"If we didn't have that offside, we could've scored and possibly won the game," Pytel said.
Early in the last quarter the teams traded punts. Scrimmaging from the Hawks' 41, the Bulldogs handed the ball off to Proulx several times in a row in their jumbo offence package. He gradually pushed the team forward to the 17, setting the stage for Beyette's dramatic boot.
On the second-last offensive series by the Hawks they moved the chains on solid efforts by Brad Hoddinott and Pytel, plus an unnecessary roughness call against the Bulldogs. The drive eventually stalled after the Bulldogs snuffed out two running plays and the Hawks were forced to try a 28-yard field goal by Kushneryk that was on target but fell just short with 2:55 remaining.
Starting from their seven the Bulldogs worked the clock like a surgeon as Proulx battled for several yards and a pair of first downs against a jacked-up defence.
"He did a great job of running the ball. He has tremendous vision and game-breaking speed," said Hill, a Bellerose teacher who received the school's employee of the month award after the Bulldogs humbled the Skyhawks 7-0 Oct. 7 in the first win by the senior Dawgs in team history after seven losses to their cross-town rivals.
Proulx, 16, was tough to stop in his first game with the Bulldogs as a late addition to the roster and only had a week of practice to learn the plays.
"It felt great to help the team win," said Proulx, who transferred from St. Albert High to Bellerose to be with his friends. "It's great to go to Bellerose and do good for them."
Arguably the biggest play by the Bulldogs during their last offensive series that was spearheaded by Proulx was Moroz's quarterback bootleg. After faking the pitch he scooted out of bounds at the Hawks' 54 for a pivotal 13-yard gain with 1:40 remaining.
After going two-and-out the Bulldogs punted and the Hawks regrouped at their 17. A 13-yard scamper by Schmidt was followed by a quarterback sack by Gray, but his horsecollar takedown resulted in a 15-yard penalty. On the next play, Gray tackled Hoddinott at the line of scrimmage, and combined with an illegal procedure flag on the Hawks, the ball was put back to the 40. Schmidt then hit Molyneaux for 14 yards, but on third and one, his pass to Hoddinott fell incomplete with 14 seconds to play.
"It was a hard fought game. We had a few bad breaks and a few mental errors but we tried our hardest," said Pytel, 15, "They got lucky a few times and broke it big and we just couldn't finish it off at the end."
