Two St. Albert football teams fought hard through cold and rainy weather on Sunday, Aug. 23, but came up short against the visiting Camrose squads.
Cowbells were ringing and players were slamming into each other at Larry Olexiuk field on the rainy Sunday afternoon, but in the end the home crowd energy wasn't enough to help the bantam and peewee teams defeat the visiting Camrose club during the exhibition season.
Geoff Richer, who will act as the registrar for the St. Albert Minor Football Association (SAMFA) this fall, said it was nice to see the kids take to the field in a tune-up before the real games despite the result.
“Not the greatest weather for football but the kids came out and they played hard,” said Richer. “Definitely had to knock some rust off but it's an exhibition and that’s the point.”
"We definitely saw a lot of potential and things to work on. Our peewees got a foundation now that we see and we just need to build up on top of it.”
Both the bantam and peewee teams are heading into the season with a lot of kids who are new to the sport.
In the first battle of the day, the home team came up short as the Camrose kids rode home to a shut-out victory of 28-0 over the Colts.
The afternoon game saw the Buffaloes run away with the game against the local Fury. It was a tight first quarter as the two teams traded chances at each end but it would be Camrose who struck first with a hard-nosed drive into the end-zone.
The Fury would get a few chances to get the ball upfield, but the savvy veteran strategy of the visitors was a thorn in the side of St. Albert all game long. At half-time, the Buffaloes had opened up a wide lead.
The Fury would eventually find a way onto the scoreboard in the second half but it was too little too late as Camrose marched on to a 45-6 victory.
Fury coach Dave Montgomery said the lopsided result can be chalked up to a batch of inexperienced players going up against a veteran Camrose squad.
“We have 15 new players to football, more than half the team...it was an exhibition game and they all got playing time,” said Montgomery. “We got some good reps and plenty of mistakes to learn from and that's where our focus will be over the next two weeks.”
The Fury will get a chance at redemption this season but the exact date for the match is unknown as their schedule is currently in the process of being finalized.
The other bantam Football team, the St. Albert 49ers had a bye-week this weekend. They will be in action this weekend to open up their regular season schedule against Fort McMurray on Sunday at Larry Olexiuk field.
