Valkyries win
The V in Valkyries stands for victory as the first midget female spring league football team in St. Albert history won its season debut in six-on-six league play.
Charley Tourond’s second touchdown of the night, a blazing romp covering more than 40 yards, and Emily Maki’s conversion pass to Olivia Colbourne broke a 13-13 tie against the West Edmonton Raiders on Friday at Clarke Stadium.
The Raiders scored on the next drive but failed to convert the TD as the game ended 20-19 for the Valkyries.
Tourond opened the scoring with a sizable TD run as the Valkyries led 6-0 at halftime.
Maki’s TD dash from the 45-yard line on the first play of the second half and Tourond’s conversion play made it 13-0.
The Raiders replied with a pair of TDs to knot the score at 13.
The full contact six-on-six format consists of a split field to accommodate two games with 30 minutes of running time per half.
Converts that are runs or passes are worth one point and kicks are two points.
The four-team league for females in grades 9, 10 and 11 is operated by the Capital District Minor Football Association.
The next game for the 12-player lineup of Valkyries is 9:15 p.m. Friday against the Leduc Wildcats at Clarke Stadium.
The Wildcats are coming off a 40-13 loss to the Wetaskiwin Warriors.
Teams play five games apiece, culminating with the May 11 playoffs at Larry Olexiuk Field.
Storm brewing
First place is on the line Saturday in the midget spring league as the St. Albert Storm and Battle River Shock huddle up in Lacombe.
Kickoff is 5 p.m. between the co-leaders in the seven-team division in the Capital District Minor Football Association.
Both teams are 2-0 after wins of 30-14 for the Storm against the Edmonton Seahawks (1-1) and 65-6 for the Shock against the Fort McMurray Ravens (0-2) on Saturday at Clarke Stadium.
The Storm kicked off league play for Grade 9, 10 and 11 players with the 14-7 decision against the Ravens on March 30 in Lacombe.
Upcoming for the Storm is the Lloydminster Red Dogs (1-0), undefeated the last few seasons. Kickoff is 4 p.m. April 27 at Clarke Stadium.
Last year the Storm finished 5-1 (178 PF/86 PA) and the lone loss was 36-16 to the Red Dogs.
All-Edmonton Teams
The 2018 All-Edmonton Football Teams in the metro Edmonton league include the following players from Bellerose Bulldogs, Paul Kane Blues, St. Albert High Skyhawks and Sturgeon Spirits:
Division one Carr conference
Brett Yost, running back, Bellerose.
Bronson Wilke, linebacker, Bellerose.
Pablo Rizzi-Benavides, defensive back, Bellerose.
Division two Miles conference
Justin Stoneham, receiver, Skyhawks.
Ethan Wedman, receiver, Paul Kane.
Hunter Bo-Lassen, offensive lineman, Paul Kane.
Gabriel Forbes, defensive lineman, Skyhawks.
Matt Swecera, linebacker, Skyhawks.
Evan Selzler, linebacker, Skyhawks.
Jared Granoski, linebacker, Skyhawks.
Jackson Ganton, defensive back, Skyhawks.
Kyle Torok-Both, defensive back, Skyhawks.
Luke Eady, defensive back, Paul Kane.
Division three Gilfillan conference
Zach Froese, quarterback, Sturgeon.
Nathan Brake, receiver, Sturgeon.
Chase Kobza, receiver, Sturgeon.
Will Campbell, receiver, Sturgeon.
Addison Chaabane, offensive lineman, Sturgeon.
Alex Herard, defensive lineman, Sturgeon.
Zach Roberts, defensive lineman, Sturgeon.
Dylan Young, linebacker, Sturgeon.
Kolby Phillips, defensive back, Sturgeon.
Marc LeBlanc, defensive back, Sturgeon.
Players on the All Edmonton Football Teams were nominated and selected by the coaches in their respective conferences.
Meanwhile, among the 19 Metro Athletics All-Stars are Yost, a Grade 12 Bulldog, Jackson, a Grade 11 Skyhawk, and Froese, the Gilfillan conference MVP in Grade 11 at Sturgeon.
Also, the Metro Athletics Coach of the Year in the Carr conference is Jason Lafferty of the Bulldogs.
Lafferty did a remarkable job guiding the Bulldogs to a 3-4 record after taking over from Chad Hill. The longtime Bellerose teacher and the Carr coach of the year in 2016 and 2017 left the Bulldogs to coach Sturgeon’s first football team and was joined by basically the entire coaching staff from the 2017 Bellerose team that finished 7-4 while competing in its first Carr final, recorded its first Tier I (1,250-plus students) provincial playdown win and reached the Tier I north final for the first time in team history.
