The 35-28 decision against the Austin O’Brien Crusaders on a bone-chilling evening at Riel Park field set the stage for Friday’s playoff match between the Skyhawks (3-3 league; 4-4 overall) and Falcons (5-0 league; 8-0 overall). The score from Clarke Park was unavailable at press time.
The winner will huddle up against the Bellerose Bulldogs (3-2-1) or Salisbury Sabres (4-1 league; 5-2 overall) in the Nov. 6 final.
Two weeks ago, the Falcons whipped the Skyhawks 51-0. They racked up 10 points in the first quarter, led by 20 at halftime and by 41 after three quarters.
The Falcons are the three-time defending Carr champions and last year’s tier I provincial finalists. In the tier I (school population 1,250-plus) rankings, the Falcons are listed second and the Skyhawks are unranked.
The Falcons (209 PF/27 PA) and Salisbury had first round byes as the top two teams in the conference. The Skyhawks (42 PF/100 PA) finished fourth.
In Tuesday’s opening playoff round, the Skyhawks knocked off the team that beat them 21-14 in overtime in the 2009 semifinals. Phil Thibodeau’s touchdown in the extra period silenced the Crusaders (1-5).
The wild and woolly affair also marked the first game the Skyhawks scored a touchdown after losses of 7-0 to Bellerose, 25-3 to Salisbury and the blowout by the Falcons in the last game before the playoffs. Matteo Sistito had a great game on offence. The defence, led by Grade 12 linebacker Tanner Doll, kept the Skyhawks in the thick of things.
The St. Albert Hawks went down to defeat 24-21 to the Salisbury Sabres in Wednesday’s premier conference semifinal in metro Edmonton high school junior football.
The entertaining playoff contest at Johnny Bright Park was tied 21-all, when the Sabres booted a 26-yard field goal with 1.8 on the clock in the third quarter. The winning points were the result of a third-down defensive stand by the Sabres, as Nathan Pytel of the Hawks was stopped short of the first down marker by a hair. The spot of the ball by the official was questionable. The measurement went in favour of the Sabres and they took over possession at the Hawks’ 37 with 1:58 left in the quarter.
The Sabres opened the scoring with a 39-yard run. The three-play drive started at the Salisbury 46.
After the kickoff, the Hawks smartly marched the ball from their 47. A couple of pass completions by Felix Schmidt, including a 13-yard strike to Jake Svenson on third and three from the Salisbury 43, kept the drive going. Runs by Brad Hoddinott, Pytel and Schmidt led up to Pytel’s four-yard TD dash with 7:18 to go before halftime. Jesse Kushneryk kicked the convert.
The Sabres regained the lead on their next possession with a 17-yard TD catch by a wide-open receiver in the end zone.
Before the half ended, Matt Gradidge was credited with a fumble recovery in the Sabres’ backfield at the Salisbury 48. On second down, the Sabres were flagged for roughing the passer. On second and two from the 22, Rocky Borrelli took Schmidt’s offering and fought his way into the end zone with 37 seconds remaining. Kushneryk made the convert.
In the third quarter, the explosive Pytel stepped out of two tackles en route to a 13-yard TD to cap off an impressive 80-yard drive that started with a fumble recovery by Sean Barton. Key first downs included a 23-yard romp by Pytel and a 25-yard catch and run by Svenson through traffic.
The next time on offence the Sabres were forced to punt from the Hawks’ 53 after Jared Codrington and Hoddinott combined to sack the quarterback. On the punt, a snafu on the return gave the Sabres the ball at the Hawks’ 13. On the next play the Sabres waltzed into the end zone and the convert knotted the score.
In the fourth quarter the Sabres kept the Hawks under wraps while clinging to the three-point lead. They also blocked a Kushneryk punt and took possession at the Hawks’ 38 with under six minutes to go but quickly went two-and-out.
The Sabres sealed the deal when they picked off Schmidt near the Hawks’ 30 with 19.9 seconds remaining.
In the premier final last year the Hawks lost 10-1 to Salisbury.
In league play the Hawks placed second in pool B at 2-1 and were 3-2 overall, including a 16-0 victory over Salisbury in exhibition play to kick off the season. The Sabres were 3-1 in pool A and 4-1 overall.
Wednesday’s loss marked only the second time in seven years the Hawks failed to qualify for the premier final. The team’s last premier championship was 2006.
The first loss of the season by the Bellerose Bulldogs in metro Edmonton high school junior football was Wednesday’s 41-0 drubbing by the Bev Facey Falcons in the premier conference semifinal at Johnny Bright Park.
After scoring a converted touchdown in the first quarter on a 17-yard run, the Falcons extended the lead to 20 points at halftime and by 34 after three quarters. They completed the blowout with their sixth TD.
Liam Gray turned in a strong performance on both sides of the ball for Bellerose. He gained some impressive yards running the ball on the fly and was among the leading tacklers on defence.
On offence the Bulldogs struggled stringing first downs together. The running game was held in check as the Bulldogs handed the ball off to a variety of runners in hopes of generating long gains. Turnovers also plagued the team. The defence had difficulty stopping the Falcons from moving the ball down field with authority.
In league play the Bulldogs placed first in pool B at 3-0 and were 5-0 overall. The Falcons finished in a three-way tie for top spot in pool A at 3-1 and were 5-1 overall. They were awarded second place through the tiebreaker formula.
Last year the Bulldogs didn’t win a game in the league’s premier conference format.
