2010 FOOTBALL CANADA CUP FINAL PREVIEW
July 16, 2010 – Wolfville, NS – The Football Canada Cup final round is set as Saskatchewan will now face the other undefeated team, Quebec in the Championship game scheduled for 7:00 pm this Saturday evening. B.C. will face team Nova Scotia in the “battle of the coasts” bronze medal game scheduled for Saturday, July 17 at 4:00 pm. The seventh and fifth place games take place at 10 am and 1 pm local time respectively.
The event allows for athletes to develop on the national stage as it features the most elite level of minor league football in Canada from each of the seven provinces. Tickets are available at the Acadia Box Office or by phone at 1-800-542-8425.
Schedule:
10:00 a.m. Ontario East vs. Alberta (7th & 8th Consolation game)
1:00 p.m. Manitoba vs. Ontario West (5th & 6th Consolation game)
4:00 p.m. British Columbia vs. Nova Scotia (Bronze medal game)
7:00 p.m. Saskatchewan vs. Quebec (Gold medal game)
Gold Medal Game Preview
Team Saskatchewan
Team Saskatchewan’s road to the final ran through games against Ontario West and B.C.. Special teams was key to Team Saskatchewan’s convincing 33-2 win over B.C. in the first of two Under 18 Football Canada Cup semi-finals games. Saskatchewan opened the scoring with a fumble recovery by Ben Hodson on a B.C. punt return deep in their end. Eighteen consecutive Saskatchewan points followed, pushing the lead to 24-0 after one half of play.
Sean Stenger’s 21 yard field goal late in the second quarter was followed by Saskatchewan’s Addison Richards fumble recovery on a quick kick deep in B.C. territory for their second major of the half. B.C.’s third turnover of the half led to a 48 yard drive that was ended with a Drew Burko pass to Bradley Grywul for a 4 yard touchdown. A 72 yard punt by Sean Stenger, resulting in a rouge, ended the first half.
B.C. finally broke the goose egg at the start of the second half on a defensive effort as Saskatchewan gave up a team safety.
A Stenger rouge late in the third quarter and a touchback early in the final frame made way for the last touchdown of the day when Saskatchewan’s Geoff Hughes intercepted a Carson Williams pass to the B.C. 10 yard line.
Saskatchewan scrapped together a balanced attack of 130 yards on the ground and 133 yards in the air for a net offensive gain of 250 yards compared to a B.C. combined offensive total of 98 yards.
Defensive statistics were led by B.C.’s Casey Chin with 8 solo tackles and one forced fumble in the losing effort while Saskatchewan’s Brett Wade posted four solo tackles and one sack.
Saskatchewan’s head coach credited the work by his defensive and offensive coordinators along with the preparation for a talented B.C. squad.
In the opening game of the Under 18 Football Canada Cup National championship tournament, four turnovers by Manitoba resulted in 21 of 26 points as the battle of the western prairies resulted in a 26-15 victory by Saskatchewan.
Offensive player of the game, Sean Stenger, accounted for 12 of Saskatchewan’s 26 points including three field goals from the 38, 32 and 17 yard lines; two 1-pt converts and 1 rouge.
Saskatchewan’s Addison Richards scored the first major of the tournament on a nine yard reception from Drew Burko at 4:44 of the second quarter, giving Saskatchewan an 11-0 lead that was never overturned.
Drew Burko added a one yard touchdown dive at the 10 minute mark of the third quarter to give Saskatchewan a commanding 23-7 lead heading to the final frame.
Team Quebec
Team Quebec will head into Saturday’s gold medal game with a 2-0 record and a 55 to six point advantage over their opponents, following a 31-0 win over Team Nova Scotia.
Quebec’s head coach Marc Loranger was quick to point out that his team took advantage of Nova Scotia’s mistakes. “Turnovers early in the game gave us some momentum and points. I thought Nova Scotia played well but just could not catch up. We had field position most of the time and took advantage of it”.
In their win over NS, Quebec scored twenty two of their 31 points in the opening half. Quebec created an insurmountable lead that took advantage of Team Nova Scotia’s four first half interceptions.
Quebec’s Sebastien Champagne’s recorded a 17 yard touchdown reception from François Hamel which ended a seven play, 69 yard drive that begun with a Jesse Mills pass intercepted by Quebec’s Kermentz Oreste.
Quebec’s Auclair was 11 for 17 for 136 of the 186 passing yards against NS, leading team Quebec to 343 net yards in offense compared to Team Nova Scotia’s 100. Alarie-Tardif landed the longest reception of the game of 41 yards.
Quebec’s ground and air attack churned out 186 yards each. The running game was led by 86 yards on six carry performance by Christopher Amoah. Teammates Vincent Alarie-Tardif and Guiillaume L’Abbé posted 63 yards and 34 yards respectively.
Team Quebec held NS QB Jesse Mills to 105 yards a decline from 303 yards in passing in game one against Alberta.
Mills’ third interception of the half, stolen by Gabrial Gendreau lead to Champagne second of two touchdown receptions, ending the half with a 22-0 Quebec advantage. Louis Charles Dussault snagged Quebec’s second interception early in the second quarter, but the result of the ensuing drive was a single point off of a missed Mathieu Hébert field goal.
In Quebec’s first game, Seventeen unanswered first half points was the main catalyst in a 24-6 Team Quebec win over Ontario West.
Quebec capitalized on two turnovers in the first quarter, grabbing a quick 10-0 lead. In the closing minute of the opening quarter, Jugovic turned over the ball for a second time on a quarterback sack in the Ontario endzone with Quebec’s J.F. Cyr recovering the loose ball for the major. Opening the second quarter, Eli-Christopher Bouka capped a 4 play, 38 yard drive on a 23 yard pass from Anthony Auclair to give Quebec an insurmountable 17-0 lead.
Head Coach Marc Loranger pointed out that turnovers early in the gave his team the best chance of winning. “Turnovers were a major factor, but we had more possessions than they did. Weather was a factor and they lost the ball too many times in the first half that allowed us to take the lead. That was the key to the win”.
Quebec’s Anthony Auclair was 14 for 28 for 174 yards, while teammate Eli-Christopher Bouka posted a game high 93 yards on seven receptions.
