The St. Albert Minor Football Association is preparing for a few busy weeks of playoff football.
Their Bantam and Peewee teams finished off the regular season last week. Each is set to participate in their respective playoff rounds this weekend.
President Geoff Richer said the association is proud of the high level of football they have seen from this year’s teams.
“I’m really proud the [Bantam] 49ers and [Peewee] Riders are both playing in Tier One divisions, so it’s really good to see them doing well,” said Richer.
The 49ers ended the year with a game on Sunday against the Sherwood Park Rams. They entered the game in a tie for first place in their division with the West Edmonton Raiders.
It was a match-up that saw the 49ers achieve a dominant lead. Steele Doronski, Oceane Moustier, Arlen Gray, and Eliseo Mejia led their defensive game and held the Rams to eight points on the night.
Head coach Martin Quirk had high praise for his team’s defensive performance.
“They shut down the Rams for most of the night,” said Quirk. “That included a defensive touchdown by Eliseo Majia.”
The offensive rolled, too. Quarterback Preston Wideman connected with Elijah Thomas for two touchdown passes; Thomas ran another one in by himself. The 49ers capped off their season with a 25-8 win over the Rams.
“We executed all three phases of the game — offense, defense, and special teams,” said Quirk. “We’re able to secure the 5-1 regular-season record going into the Tier One semi-final this weekend.”
The win helped them keep pace with the Raiders in the division and the two teams were still tied for the top-spot at the close of the season came. The Raiders retained the first seed with the tie-breaker and the 49ers will remain the second seed for their playoff run.
While the 49ers hope they can continue their dominant play against the Rams, Quirk said the team won’t take them lightly.
“We’re trying to temper expectations and not get ahead of ourselves,” said Quirk. “We’ve got to take it one game at a time. We’ve beaten the Rams in the two times we’ve played against them, however, they are a very good football team and they’re going to be ready for us.”
The 49ers and Rams are set to do battle at the Emerald Hills Sports Pavilion in Sherwood Park Saturday at 10 am. The Bantam Fury will look to advance in their playoff bracket as they take on the Wolverines for a Halloween day match-up in Spruce Grove.
The Peewee Colts will head to the Millwoods Turf Field on Saturday for a semi-final game against the Stony Plain Bombers. Meanwhile, the Peewee Riders will do battle with the Edmonton Chargers at Emerald Hills on Sunday.
For more information on the league, visit their website at https://www.CDMFA.ca.
