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Paul Kane pumped to play big game

Friday's division two Miles conference final will also determine the metro Edmonton Tier II provincial rep in high school football
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SLINGING THE BALL – Paul Kane Blues' quarterback Jacob King fires a pass as offensive linemen Marshall Missins, left, and Brady Cooke assist with blocking in last week's 53-14 rout of the Ardrossan Bisons in the division two Miles conference semifinal at Clarke Stadium. Friday's final against the Leduc Tigers kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Commonwealth Stadium. The winner will also represent the metro Edmonton league in the Tier II north semifinal against the host Lloydminster Barons on Nov. 9. CHRIS COLBOURNE/St. Albert Gazette

The Paul Kane Blues control their own destiny in Friday’s final to extend an undefeated season into provincials.

Win and Paul Kane is in. Lose and it's bye bye Blues.

That’s what is at stake when Paul Kane and the Leduc Tigers battle for the division two Miles conference championship and the right to represent the metro Edmonton league as the second Tier II rep in the provincial playdowns.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Commonwealth Stadium.

“We’re just focused on winning the game and we’re not thinking too much afterwards,” said Matt Mah, a Grade 12 defensive back. ”But we’ll be set for when provincials come if we win.”

In the Football Alberta Tier II (750 to 1,249 students) rankings, Paul Kane (7-0) is eighth and Leduc (5-1) is ninth.

The winner will line up against the No. 4 Lloydminster Barons, this year’s Wheatland league champions, in the Tier II north semifinal Nov. 9 in the Border City.

The No. 3 Austin O’Brien Crusaders of the division one Carr conference are the top Tier II metro Edmonton rep and in the north semifinals are playing the No. 5 St. Joseph Celtics of the Mighty Peace league in Grande Prairie.

The fifth provincial appearance in five years for Paul Kane in 2017 ended with the 44-0 shutout by Celtics in Grande Prairie.

That same year, Paul Kane lost the Miles’ final 37-0 to the Strathcona Lords at Commonwealth Stadium.

This year’s final is the team's fourth in seven years as Paul Kane strives to equal its undefeated 2013 and 2014 Miles’ championship seasons.

"We can go far in provincials so we’ve got to win this game to go to provincials and really get PK up there after last season," said Grade 11 lineman Kevin Hessell.

The turnaround from last year’s 3-3-1 non-playoff showing has been better than expected.

“It’s been a nice season so far. Everything has been on our side so far so we want to keep it going and win,” Hessell said.

Paul Kane is averaging an impressive  35.4 points scored and 8.5 against in seven wins.

“This is certainly the most talented team I’ve been on at Paul Kane,” said Mah, one of five returnees from the 7-3 team in 2017. “We’re hoping to go far.”

The final is shaping up to be a doozy after both teams posted emphatic victories in last week’s semifinals: 53-14 for Paul Kane against the Ardrossan Bisons (5-2,), ranked fourth in Tier IV (449 or less students), and 29-14 for Leduc against the second-year Sturgeon Spirits (6-2), ranked third in Tier III (450 to 749 students).

“It’s very exciting,” Hessell said. “We all want to make it to provincials so it’s going to be a war out there. We’ve got to fight for the win so we can go to provincials and get the title.”

Mah agreed. “We’re pumped and we’re certainly taking practice seriously. We’re going to focus on strengthening our defence, that’s what we’ve been doing throughout this whole year, and with our offence we’ll just trust them to score a lot.”

Paul Kane and Leduc played in different pools in the joint division two Miles/division three Gilfillan conference to determine the playoff pairings in the Miles and Gilfillan so the Blues have been pouring over game film of the Tigers to plot their strategy.

“We’re not taking them lightly,” Mah said. “We certainly don’t know what to expect as much as the teams we’ve played before, but we’re pretty confident we can set up a game plan to face them.

“We know they’re fast and athletic. The numbers to watch out for are number four and number five. We know they run hard and they keep their feet moving so we’re just going to play it honest.”

Hessell, 16, also provided a scouting report on Leduc.

“They’re a run heavy team so on defence we’ve really got to stop their runners like number five, he’s fast, and the same with their quarterback and on offence we’ve just got to run our plays 100 per cent the whole game. If we do all of that we can come out on top,” said the six-foot-six tackle on both sides of the ball who is also a noted basketball player.

The semifinal against Ardrossan marked the return from injuries by Marshall Missins (arm), arguably the top high school lineman in St. Albert as a Grade 11 standout, and Matt’s 17-year-old twin brother, Cam (wrist), a starter on defence.

Missins and Cam were sidelined in the first half of the the 17-14 victory over the St. Albert High Skyhawks in week two of the regular season.

Missins is an even better leader than he is a football player while Cam is like his brother, a reliable no-nonsense tough-as-nails defender.

As for which Mah entered the world first, “I did by about seven minutes, but I don’t hold it over him,” Matt said.

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