The St. Albert High Skyhawks promise to be in the thick of things this year as contenders instead of pretenders in high school football.
"We will be very competitive. You won't have to look to find us because we'll be there," declared Sam Johnson, the Skyhawks' head coach.
Last year in the condensed four-team Carr conference, the Skyhawks placed third and in the playoffs lost a heartbreaking overtime decision to the Austin O'Brien Crusaders en route to a 1-3 metro Edmonton league record.
"We lost some key guys from last year that are difficult to replace," Johnson said of his team of players from the St. Albert Catholic and Paul Kane high schools. "This year we've got guys like Tanner Doll and Mike Spagnolo that are ready to step up and take on that leadership role."
Doll is a beast who thrives on inflicting pain. A ferocious linebacker who can also run the ball with authority, the Grade 12 Skyhawk is the real deal. Spagnolo is considered the best athlete on the senior team and will quarterback the offence for the second straight year after winning the Grant Yuzyk Award as the top Grade 10 junior player in metro with the 2008 Hawks.
Among the returning players is Spencer Duff, who had a breakthrough campaign running and catching the ball out of the backfield in the midget spring league this year with the tier II playoff champion St. Albert Storm.
Several quality graduating juniors from the Hawks, last year's premier finalists, will give the seniors a big boost on both sides of the ball.
Defensively the Skyhawks will make teams pay the price.
"We have a very tenacious defence. Garret Doll, our principal [at St. Albert Catholic] and defensive co-ordinator, has got a fantastic defensive scheme. He's got the guys understanding what they need to do. They're going to be flying around to the ball," Johnson said.
The Skyhawks have revamped their offensive attack with the arrival of Orland Wilson, head coach of the 2009 Hawks. He also coached the St. Albert Fury, last year's tier II playoff champions in the Capital District Minor Football Association and provincial finalists.
"We've put in some different schemes and they haven't really been tested yet. Our first game on Sept. 2 [exhibition against Spruce Grove at 5 p.m. at Riel Park field] will be kind of trial by fire but we're all committed to this new offensive scheme. The kids are buying in and they're working very hard but you've always got a bit of a question mark when you bring in a whole new system on offence," Johnson said.
Wilson gained notoriety last year by using the same conservative offensive playbook with success with both the Hawks and Fury. The game plan was basically stack the line of scrimmage with bodies and feed the defence a steady diet of runs up the gut behind a jumbo-sized blocking alignment. The odd bootleg by the quarterback, with the occasional pass play, also helped keep defences off balance.
"No, that is not the scheme we're using," said Johnson, who looked rather uncomfortable talking about Wilson's offence that drew the ire of opposing coaches last year. "I hate to use the word university offence, but it's more of a complicated offence with more movement. Kids have to understand they're not going to be told to be standing in spot X and go block player Y. They have to understand what we're trying to do with the play and being at the right spot at the right time so it's a little more complicated offence. It won't be, put 11 guys on the line of scrimmage and snap the ball to the one guy and let him run. There won't be any of that."
After last year's very short Carr schedule, Johnson is excited to see the arrival of the Bellerose Bulldogs and Archbishop Jordan Scots from the Miles conference. The Bev Facey Falcons, three-time defending champions and perennial tier I provincial contenders, as well as the Salisbury Sabres and Crusaders round out the conference.
"I'm very happy that we have more teams. It's great," Johnson said. "I'm very proud of [Bulldogs' head coach] Chad Hill and the boys over at Bellerose for coming up and Jordan stepping up as well. It just makes for better quality football. In my opinion Edmonton metro has some of the best teams in the province and the more competition that we have between us the better football it's going to be in this area."
Big game
With the Bulldogs back in the fold, it sets the stage for the Oct. 7 Showdown in St. Albert between the rival football teams. The Skyhawks have never lost a game to Bellerose in senior or junior, since the first clash of the titans kicked off in 1999. This year's tilt is already being billed as Garret Doll's Skyhawks defence versus Marty Kipp's Bulldogs offence.
"You hate to hang your team's hopes and dreams on one game. Is it an important game? Absolutely. Is it any more important than any other one? I don't think so but maybe to the boys it is," Johnson said. "The kids know each other, which makes it so much more fun. We're both finally in the Carr division with the big boys, which makes it more important than maybe games in the past have been. Will it be the end all and be all of our season? No. Is it an important part of our season? Absolutely. Do we want to win it? Of course we do."
THIRD DOWN: When school starts, Johnson expects to have 75 to 80 junior and senior players at practice.
Replacing Wilson as the Hawks' main man is Sean Brass, an up-and-coming coach with the same pedigree as Hill at Bellerose.
"Sean is a fantastic coach. He's got some great skills. He relates well to the kids. He just finished his teaching degree in June and we're very excited to have him on board. He will do a very good job with our juniors," Johnson said of the noted offensive line coach and former Skyhawk.
The Skyhawks are planning a trip to California to play the Lutheran High Lancers in Orange County on Sept. 28.
