Johnny Bright Park – The St. Albert Fury had the wind knocked out of them by the Edmonton Black Raiders in Saturday’s bantam division bout.
The Raiders punished last year’s tier II provincial finalists with three touchdowns in the first quarter en route to a unanimous 51-18 decision in the Capital District Minor Football Association.
After the Raiders scored on their first play from scrimmage, a 55-yard romp 3:11 into the game, they went on to lead 20-0 at quarter time, 32-6 at halftime and 45-6 after three quarters.
“We didn’t do so good in the first quarter. We weren’t making our tackles and these guys are just too fast for us,” said linemen Jack Hanna. “In the second quarter we started coming back a bit. We started making our tackles, we hit those guys hard and we were able to get some nice touchdowns.”
Down 26-0, the Fury stopped the Raiders on third and six at the St. Albert 34. Hanna and Nick Cowan led the charge against the Raiders’ big back from gaining the first down.
From their 30 the Fury moved the chains as Tyler Turner rattled off an 18-yard gain and teamed up with quarterback Matt Lewandoski on a 45-yard catch and run on third down. The Raiders were also flagged for unnecessary roughness as Turner was tackled late out of bounds. On first and goal from the one, Nick Svenson followed his blocking into the endzone with 2:09 left in the first half.
Back on offence, the Raiders were stopped on third down by Jay Stoneham’s quarterback sack at the Edmonton 52. The Fury went two-and-out, and the Raiders returned the punt 65 yards into scoring range. The Raiders ended the half with a seven-yard TD run. On the play before, Graeme Loerke made a TD-saving tackle in front of the posts.
In the second half the Raiders took the opening kick off and wasted no time scoring from their 50 with another long run.
After the Raiders made it 44-6 with a 52-yard TD gallop, Joshua Dobbins almost ran back the kick off but was corralled at the 27. After a first down, the Fury got pushed back to the 45 to start the fourth quarter. On third and one, Tyler Moroz drove the ball to the 22. Hanna, in a rare appearance in the backfield, rumbled 11 yards for the first down. On second down at the 11, Lewandoski hit Jason Salanchy in the endzone.
Lewandoski’s second TD throw was from 20 yards out to Turner with 2:39 to play to round out the scoring.
“Our offence most of the time can get a decent amount of points but teams like the Raiders and [Millwoods] Grizzlies have fast players and we seem to have a little bit of trouble with that,” said Lewandoski, noting the Fury’s worst loss prior to Saturday’s blowout was 36-6 to the undefeated Grizzlies on Sept. 26.
In the tier I/II Johnny Bright division the Fury and Raiders share fourth place with identical 3-3 records.
“Our defence has been really strong for us, but it’s really been a team thing more than anything this year,” said Hanna, 14, a fixture at offensive guard and defensive tackle.
The last game before the playoffs is Sunday against the Spruce Grove Cougars (4-1). Kickoff is 1 p.m. at Riel Park field.
“We’re going to have to work hard for this game. These guys are one or two of the best teams in the league. We really have to buckle down and practice and work on our blocking a lot,” Lewandoski said.
Last year the Fury finished the regular season 3-6 for sixth spot in the division and 5-7 in league play after taming the Grizzlies 30-29 in the tier II final. They went on to beat the Stettler Cougars 20-12 in the northern Alberta semifinal and in the provincial final lost 34-32 to the Calgary Wildcats for an overall 6-8 record.
“We had bigger guys last year so the difference this year is mostly size but the skill is there,” said Hanna, a Grade 9 William D. Cuts student. “This should be a really good team and if we play hard to the potential we have we can get back to provincials.”
A strong core of 12 returnees includes the hard-nosed Hanna and Lewandoski, who can really sling the pigskin. From the peewee ranks are 10 graduates of the Colts, last year’s tier I league finalists
“I see a bright future for us in the playoffs,” said Lewandoski, a Grade 9 Vincent J. Maloney student. “St. Albert has always been like that team that is not quite as good as Sherwood Park or not quite as good as Edmonton so we really want to get back to provincials and win it this year to make a statement for St. Albert.”
