West Edmonton football team qualifies for provincial finals
Tyler Loutan
EDMONTON — The Jasper Place Rebels are headed to the Alberta provincial finals after finishing second in Edmonton high school football this season.
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- Jasper Place Rebels with a run play at the city championship game against the Harry Ainlay Titans, Nov. 3, 2011 at Clarke Park in Edmonton. Photograph by Tyler Loutan.
The Rebels lost to the Harry Ainlay Titans in the city finals on Nov. 3.
“We came out with a lot of emotion, all guns blazin’,” said an emotional Dylan Bodnar, defensive back of the Rebels. “It’s a letdown after a hard season, but we’ll be back in the provincials.”
The 34-14 loss in the city finals may be a heartbreaker for the Rebels, but the season is not over yet. Their second-place finish in Edmonton qualifies them for the 2011 Alberta Provincials. The provincial tournament features top high school teams from Alberta. Jasper Place will compete in Tier I in the tournament, as one of the top eight teams among Alberta’s biggest schools (1,250+ students).
The Rebels are set to face the Raymond Comets in the quarter-finals on Nov. 12 at Don Steed Memorial Stadium in Raymond, Alta., at 6 p.m. Raymond is 550 km south of Edmonton.
The Titans were undefeated in the 2011 season, and the Nov. 3 victory marked their third consecutive city championship.
The Titans dominated the first half, putting up 17 points while holding the Rebels to 0. The Rebels came back in the second half to score two touchdowns to pull the game within three points. However, it was two rushing touchdowns from Titans quarterback Kyle Peterson and a field goal that put the game out of reach for the Rebels.
“It’s a tough loss,” said Jordan James Wright, offensive and defensive lineman. “But we’re a young team that performed well and we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished.”
Rebels head coach Ryan David focused on the positive.
“The kids played hard, I’m so proud of them,” said David. “We were competitive for three quarters, but high school football is a crazy thing.”
The Rebels had defeated the higher ranked Spruce Grove Panthers 39–29, in the semi-finals to earn their spot in the city championship. The Titans had beaten the Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds 53–7 to make their way to the finals.
This was the Rebels’ second consecutive trip to the city finals.
The game MVP was Titans running back Aundrey Webster, who ran for over 100 yards and two touchdowns.
That’s another football in the end zone for HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL!!
A rather misleading report. The game against the Raymond Comets is not the Alberta Bowl; far from it. It is the quarter-finals. The winner of the Rebels/Comets will play the winner of the Bishop O’Byrne Bobcats vs. #2 Notre Dame Pride. The winner of THAT game will go to the Alberta Bowl, Nov. 26 in Lethbridge.
Thank you Trevor and T Farrell for your comments.
T Farrell, from what I gathered the tournament is advertised as the Alberta Bowl. However, I can see you point in saying that I shouldn’t say “Rebels vs Comets in Alberta Bowl” because it sounds like the championship game when it indeed isn’t. I wouldn’t say “a wild-card match between the Patriots and Steelers in the Super Bowl”, so I think I’ll correct that in the article. Thanks for your attention to detail, and for helping West Edmonton Local be more precise in our reporting.
Trevor, love the enthusiasm.