The Bellerose Bulldogs will play football with the big boys this year in the metro Edmonton league.
The switch in conferences from the Miles to the Carr was the next logical step for Bellerose after its winning season in 2009.
"We know it's going to be very competitive. It's an ultra tough league but we're ready for the challenge. We're doing it because we feel like we belong in the Carr," said Chad Hill, head coach of the senior Bulldogs since 2008 and the junior team since 2005. "I said two years ago at this time that we didn't want to stay in the Miles. The goal was to move up to Carr and after last year, which was quite a successful season, we feel that we're ready now to compete with the very best teams."
Bellerose will field its most talented senior lineup since 2007, when the Miles playoff-winning Bulldogs celebrated the first championship by a football team at the high school since 1997.
Most of the players with this year's St. Albert Storm, the tier II playoff winners in the Capital District Minor Football Association with Hill as their field general, will play senior or junior at Bellerose this fall.
"On paper we look good but we've got to go out and prove that we're good," Hill said of his senior roster that includes players from Sturgeon Composite High School. "It's definitely exciting coming into this season with the talent we have, especially the Grade 12s. I had a lot of those guys when they were in Grade 9 in the midget spring league with the Storm 2 team and then I had them in junior in Grade 10. They were the best junior team besides the 2005 juniors [when the Bulldogs lost the premier final to the St. Albert Hawks] and that core is still together in Grade 12."
Last year Bellerose finished second in the Miles and 6-2-1 overall as the conference semifinalists.
"We had a lot of Grade 12s on the roster but a lot of our starters were Grade 11s," Hill said.
Several standouts on a stacked Bellerose defence include Cam Joseph, Kiernan Fraser and Cody Andresen.
"Last year nine out of the 12 starters on defence were in Grade 11 and they're back, with the exception of [injured linebacker] Jordan Schapansky," Hill said. "We had the least amount of points against in the Miles last year [36 in eight games in the regular season]. The majority of those players are back so I would hope the defence would be our strength again, especially early on in the season. Most of these guys have been playing the same system of defence now for a few years so they should be quite comfortable with it. There is not a steep learning curve for them."
On offence the Bulldogs will score more points than the Edmonton Eskimos this year with assistant coach Marty Kipps calling the plays. The all-time leading rusher in the history of the Simon Fraser University Clansmen has a special playbook designed for fullback extraordinaire, Devin Kondro. The Bulldogs' most valuable player award-winner in grades 10 and 11 was arguably the Storm's MVP this year. He will be heavily scouted by universities in Canada and the United States.
"I'm really excited about our backfield. We have some weapons. Tayler White, our quarterback, had a very strong spring season. Kondro is a freight train. We also have Grayson Baker and Robert Blunden. We'll stick Cody Andresen in there too and that will give us a power backfield with him and Kondro," Hill said.
The biggest question mark is the team's overall depth.
"Last year we had a lot of very capable, strong backup players. This year I don't see us having that same amount of depth," Hill said. "Last year we lost a lot of players to injuries, a lot of key players too, and other guys stepped in and filled that role. This year we're keeping our fingers crossed that we stay healthy, but if something goes wrong with one of our guys then we need a guy that is maybe not as proven to really play his butt off and improve his game so he can help us out on the field."
Game of the year
The hottest high school sports rivalry in St. Albert resumes Oct. 7, when Bellerose and St. Albert High Skyhawks huddle up at Riel Park field. The move to Carr by the Bulldogs signalled the rebirth of the Showdown in St. Albert. The last grudge match between the St. Albert programs was 2007, when the Skyhawks whipped Bellerose 38-0. Starting with the inaugural 1999 showdown, the Skyhawks dominated Bellerose with convincing victories of 42-8, 42-22, 42-0, 60-0, 39-3 and 17-2.
"We haven't addressed it as a team but the huge perception out there is that it's a make-or-break game for us and we've got to be cautious about that. Sure it's an important game. I will say it's our most important regular season game but our goal is to not just to beat the Skyhawks. Our goal is to beat everybody, play in the final of the Carr conference and qualify for provincials," said Hill, who was spotted cracking jokes with Skyhawks' coaches Garret Doll and Orland Wilson prior to the start of the Bulldogs' practice Wednesday at Bellerose.
"I don't want to be short-sighted and say the Skyhawks game is the end-all and be-all but we've got a chance to be the first senior team ever to beat them. It's a golden opportunity for us and we're looking very forward to it but we're also looking forward to the whole season as well."
THIRD DOWN: The Bulldogs kick off the season with a trip to California to play Santana High School, located about 20 minutes outside of San Diego, on Aug. 27. Santana is a big school enrolment-wise and last year its record was 2-9.
