The St. Albert Hawks were solid on both sides of the ball in Tuesday’s season debut.
The 2009 premier junior finalists in the metro Edmonton league shut out the Salisbury Sabres 16-0 in exhibition action at Riel Park field.
“Overall, we looked fairly strong but the pre-season rust was evident,” said Sean Brass, the Hawks’ new head coach.
Defensively, the Hawks played strong as a unit. On offence, Nathan Pytel scored one touchdown and racked up lots of yards. Felix Schmidt showed promise at quarterback. He hooked up with fullback Jake Svenson several times.
In league play the Hawks are grouped in pool B with the O’Leary Spartans, St. Francis Xavier Rams and the rival Bellerose Bulldogs. The regular season kicks off this Tuesday when the Hawks play the Rams at 5 p.m. at Johnny Bright Park. The last game before the playoffs is Oct. 19 against Bellerose at 6 p.m. at Riel Park.
This year the top two teams in pools A and B qualify for the premier playoffs and the rest of the teams compete for city conference honours.
The Hawks are coming off a 4-4 season (3-3 in the premier standings) that ended with a 10-1 loss to Salisbury in a snowy premier final. It was their second straight appearance in the premier championship and the fifth in six years. The last premier title for the team of players from St. Albert Catholic and Paul Kane high school was their third in a row in 2006.
The Bellerose Bulldogs started off their junior season with a bang Tuesday.
Connor Blackburn rushed for three touchdowns in the first half before leaving the exhibition contest with an ankle injury, as the Bulldogs went on to beat the St. Joseph Saints 32-7 in Edmonton.
Dallas Moroz and Shannon Stuht split time at quarterback and both players ran for TDs.
The defence was led by linebacker Brandon Moulds, who also saw action in the offensive backfield.
“It was a good confidence booster for the boys,” said head coach Chad Hill. “Both us and St. Joe’s emptied the benches. They had a couple of good runners on their team. I don’t think they will be pushovers.”
At 7:30 p.m. this Tuesday at Clarke Park, the Bulldogs huddle up against the O’Leary Spartans in the metro Edmonton league’s pool B season opener.
Last year in the premier conference the Bulldogs were winless in seven games. The team of players from Bellerose and Sturgeon high schools scored only 16 points and gave up a whopping 189.
The St. Albert Minor Football Association (SAMFA), Capital District Minor Football Association (CDMFA), Purolator and the Edmonton Eskimos have joined forces to raise donations for food banks in the CDMFA’s member associations. Tackle Hunger is a program put together by the Canadian Football League and Purolator. It encourages football fans to donate non-perishable items and raise funds for local food banks. The recent Edmonton Eskimos’ Tackle Hunger night collected more than 72,000 pounds of food.
The CDMFA has scheduled as many league games as possible today to help promote this special event and spectators are asked to bring a food bank donation. Eskimos’ auction items will also be raffled off to raise additional funds.
Six of SAMFA’s seven teams are in action today and four games will take place at Riel Park field. Kickoff times are as follows:
11 a.m. atoms: Buccaneers vs. Spruce Grove Cougars at Riel Park
11 a.m. atoms: Jaguars vs. Edmonton Seahawks at Clarke Park
12:30 p.m. bantams: 49ers vs. Edmonton Blue Seahawks at Clarke Park
12:30 p.m. peewees: Colts vs. Millwoods Maulers at Riel Park
2:30 p.m. peewees: Riders vs. Millwoods Grizzlies at Riel Park
4:30 p.m. bantams: Fury vs. Fort McMurray Ravens at Riel Park
National Sports Day is a celebration of sport from grassroots to high-performance levels in communities across Canada. It’s an opportunity for Canadians to embrace the power of sports to build community, foster national spirit and facilitate healthy, active living.
