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Nov 22, 2004
Sabres 2004 season ends with 13-1 loss to Grande Prairie in Northern Finals
The season of 2004 is over, and for the second year in a row the Sabres provincial quest is halted in the Northern Finals. This year, the season ending game was against Grande Prairie who earned their first ever berth into the Provincial Finals.
This was a game that seemed out of reach from the Sabres all game. Sal’s offense managed to move the ball on most of their possessions, however they were never able to finish a drive was a significant score. This began right from their opening possession where they easily moved the ball down field, but stalled once on the 40-yard line where they settled for
a single off of a punt. This would be the theme of the game for the offense for the entire game; move the ball down field but then turn the ball over or have a penalty stall the drive. It seemed that once the Sabres managed to get close to scoring, they kept hitting the self-destruct button.
On the other side of the ball, Sal’s defense kept the Sabres in the game for most of the game. Stopping Grande Prairie’s big offense was a formidable task, but the Sabres managed to hold the Warriors to minimal gains on most drives. In the second quarter, the Warriors strung together the plays they needed to drive the field and punch the ball in for a 7-1 lead. The defense managed to sustain the 6 point deficit for most of the game, giving the offense chances to mount a comeback. However in the 4th quarter, the Warriors pinned deep in their own end, drove the field and scored a second touchdown sealing the fate of the Sabres. The Sabres won a small victory by blocking the convert attempt.
With less than 4 minutes left and with the lack of consistent execution, the Sabres would not be able to score the 12 points they needed to win. Helplessly, they watched time slip away on the clock and on their season. On this day they lost to a team that scored when they had to, dug in defensively when they had to, and that desired the victory more. Congrats go to the Warriors.
For the second year in a row the Sabres are halted short of their goal but again finish with an impressive 9-1 record. For a short period of time after such a game there is always a tendency to reflect on what could have been. But the heartbreak has already been quickly overtaken about thoughts about next year. The great thing about the Sabres Program is that success is a tradition and another year of success is just a winter away.
Nov 6, 2004
Sabres Champs...again.
The Sabres once again have to find some room on their overcrowded mantle for their latest piece of hardware. With a 17-14 victory over the ABJ Scots, the Sabres now have their 7th Carr Championship bringing their total number of league titles to 14. The other aspect of their accomplishment this week is the 2004 team is only the second team to repeat as Carr Champions since the league was formed in 1988. The only other team to do it just happened to be the 1996 Northern Alberta Champion Sabre squad.
The victory was not as easy won. The Sabres were evenly matched with the Scots this year and the game was a defensive battle until the end. However, unlike last year where the Sabres had to come from well behind to win, this year the Sabres maintained the lead from start to finish.
The scoring began after a few series by both teams that were ended by strong defensive play. A third of the way into the first quarter, the Sabres managed to get close enough for a field goal attempt, but it fell short. Fortunately for the Sabres, the Scot return man bobbled the ball into his own end zone and lost control of it. The ball was pounced on by a Sabre lineman for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
The Scots were eventually get a touchdown of their own with a long pass up the seam. However, their convert was botched and the Sabres retained a one-point lead that would last until half-time.
The strong defensive play by both teams would continue for much of the third quarter until Sal found some rhythm and kept the ball moving with some strong running by Sal’s two backs. However, the Sabres would turn the ball over to the Scots in the red zone. But then the Sabres’ D came up huge a few plays later, stopping the Scots on a third down gamble. The turn over on downs would be converted into a 35-yard field goal and a 10-6 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Sabres would again put another successful drive together which this time was capped by a one-yard plunge for a touchdown by the Sabres QB. But the 17-6 lead would not last long as the Scots found some cracks in the Sabres D to mount their own scoring drive. A successful two-point conversion brought
the Scots within a field goal of the Sabres at 17-14. However, that would be the end of the scoring for both teams. The Scots were forced into throwing during the final few plays, and they were unsuccessful in converting a final third and long situation with just under a minute left in the game. The Sabres then ran the remainder of the time off the clock and began to celebrate their accomplishment.
The icing on the cake was the announcement that Sabres runningback Jon Sylvester was named the MVP of the Sabres’ side of the Metro League. Sylvester joins a long list of league MVP’s from Salisbury.
During the two and half weeks of playoffs, the Carr Trophy was lent back to the Metro League officials. It is now back in its rightful place at Sal. Maybe Sal should start charging the league a fee for consistently storing the trophy at the school.
Oct 29, 2004
A 21-6 win over Beaumont sets up "The Rematch"
The Sabres have themselves in a position to defend their Carr Championship from last year. Their 21-6 victory over Beaumont means a trip to the 2004 Carr Finals.
Similar to the Facey game, the offense team seemed tight at the beginning of the game. A pumped up Beaumont squad did well in creating difficulties for Sal and the Sabres were forced to punt a few times before they were able to get into scoring range. Their first scoring attempt was a field goal that was disputably called wide. That gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead. It wouldn’t be until early in the 2nd quarter before the Sabres struck again with a 50-yard pass down the left sidelines to a wide receiver. With the convert, the scoring drive made the score 8-0. That score would hold until the end of the first half.
In the second half, some blocking adjustments allowed the Sabres to become more effective along the ground. In addition, their passing game that has continued to develop as the season progresses, has taken away some of the tension of 2nd and long situations. In the third quarter the Sabres moved the ball down to the Bandits’ 15-yard line where an off tackle play was bounced to the outside and ended with another touchdown. This converted score made it 15-0. The fourth quarter saw the Sabres move the ball into Bandit territory a few times, but small mistakes halted drives calling for the field goal team on three occasions. Two of the three field goals were made making the score 21-0.
The defensive side of the ball seems to be the most improved aspect of the Sabres. Sal’s D gave up a few large gains to Beaumont’s great runningback, but overall they kept the Bandits away from the red zone. It appeared that the Sabres were going to chalk up their second shut-out this season against the Bandits, but the Sabres secondary were sucked into a hitch-pass play and the receiver just managed to get into the end zone as he was tackled with 1:40 left in the game. Beaumont’s 2-point convert attempt was easily foiled and the score would finish 21-6.
So now the Sabres and Scots will square off in the rematch of last year’s Carr Final. In that game the Sabres fell behind 28-7 at the half, but came back to win 35-28 in what is likely the greatest comeback in history of the Sabres. This year, the Scots appear to be a very dominant team that easily won their semi-final 31-0 against St. FX. The Sabres will not be able to afford to fall behind again as the Scots will be ready for a comeback attempt this year. It should be a close and entertaining game. The game is next Saturday afternoon. The time and place have yet to be decided.
Oct 21, 2004
Sabres earn first round bye with 41-6 win over Ardrossan
Apparently, last week was an anomaly. The reasons for a near loss to Facey such as little prep time and minds in the clouds due to the trip to California appear to be a little more believable after Thursday night’s game against Ardrossan. Going into the game the Bisons were undefeated and were third in the league for points for and against (only ABJ and Sal had better plus/minus records). The Sabres sent a message to the rest of the league by dominating a good Ardrossan team, putting up 416 yards of offense, 41 points and giving up only 6 points.
Sal's offensive output is even more impressive considering the teams had to play on an ice-rink. There have been games played on frozen fields before, but never has a football field had bonafied ice through the middle of the entire field. Sharp cuts through the middle of the field were not an option.
The beginning of the game for the Sal offense looked very similar to the Facey game. The Bisons were successful in getting the Sabre punting after two plays. However, the punt cover team managed to pop the ball out of the Bison return man’s hands and regain possession inside the Ardrossan 20. A few plays later a QB sneak had the Sabres up 6-0 (blocked convert). But the Bisons would answer right back. On their first play of game, the Sabres made a small defensive error and the Bison’s flyback was off to the races scoring a 60 yard touchdown to make the game 6-6 (convert blocked).
That would pretty much do it for the Bisons. From that opening score on, the Sal defense shut down the Bisons, limiting them to only a handful of first downs all game. The Fly sweep was never a threat again.
The 416 yards of offense were split into 229 yards rushing and 187 passing. The first drive of the second quarter ended with a 23 yard TD pass to a Sabre wideout and that was soon followed by another 35 yard TD pass into the endzone to the Sabres’ tailback. Sal had a 20-6 at half.
The second half started with the Bisons showing some jump as they managed to get the ball to the mid-point of the field, but a sack later, the Bisons were punting again. In fact, the Bisons wouldn’t get close to the 55-yard line again until their last possession of the game. The Sabre D was dominant.
Sal would add three more touchdowns in the second half. The first was a 40-yard romp by Sal’s “other” runningback. This made amends since the same back drove the ball deep into Bison territory on the previous drive, but fumbled on Ardrossan’s 3-yard line, a missed opportunity to score. The Sabres’ tailback added two more touchdowns, bringing his total number of touchdowns to 15, tops in the league. The final score was 41-6.
In summary, the Sabres looked be back on their game. In fact, they played their best game of the season so far. The defense dominated and the offense had a successfully balanced attack. Normally dependent on the run, the Sabres showed they could go to the air, as they were an efficient 11-15 for 187 yards.
Now the Sabres have to wait. The Carr quarter-finals take place on Tuesday, with Beaumont taking on AOB. The winner of that game will play Sal on Friday, October 29, 5:00 at Johnny Bright Bowl (JP Bowl).
Oct 14, 2004
Sal wins ugly to remain undefeated: Sal 11-Facey 7The Sabres dodged a bullet this week. While everyone expected a blow-out, those on the inside were concerned about the Sabres ability to get up for this big game. So far this year, the teams that traveled to California were not exactly stellar when they returned. St. Albert was crushed by ABJ, and Grande Prairie wasn't nearly as dominant as they should have been immediately after their trip. Without making too many excuses, the Sabres chose not to practice on Thanksgiving and so only had two practices in which to prepare for what was surely going to be a big game.
During those practices, the Sabres place a heavy emphasis on stopping the Falcons' passing game. That seemed to payoff as Facey had trouble with that aspect. In fact, except for a couple of big plays, the Sabre defense may have played their strongest game yet. The flip side of the heavy emphasis on defense was less time to prepare an offense that would be a tailback short. The injury the Sabres' tailback sustained in California would keep him from playing, and it made a surprising difference to the offense. The running game sputtered due to a lack of chemistry between the QB and the two runningbacks that started the game. Another reason the running game was not working was that Facey through an eight man front at the Sabres which was hard to penetrate. So the Sabres had to go to the air. By using a passing game that has been inconsistent, the Sabres found themselves punting many times in the first quarter. Since they were going into the wind, the Falcons always seemed to have good field position. Luckily, The Sabres defense kept the Falcons at bay the entire first half. When the Sabres were able to string a few plays together, the closest they got was close enough to attempt two field goals. One was made the other ended up as a single. The half time score was 4-0.
In the second half, everyone assumed the Sabres would relax and come out in the third quarter firing on all cylinders. However, Facey had a great kick off return and followed that by a long run from scrimmage. A few plays later the Falcons had taken a 7-4 lead. That lead seemed to be cut a a few series later when the defense scored a touchdown off an interception, however this was nullified by an offside call. To stir the offense up, the Sabres moved their back-up QB in from slot and stuck their starting QB at tailback. This seemed to work as the passing game picked up and the timing of the runningbacks improved. Eventually, the Sabres found themselves deep in Falcon territory after a 30 yard pass to their wide receiver. Soon after the Sabres' QB-turned-tailback ran the ball in off tackle. The Sabres had a 11-4.
The fourth quarter would go scoreless and the Falcons desperately tried to score and the Sabres desperately tried to stop them. With their tailback injured, the Falcons had to go away from what was working and go to the air themselves. The Sabres D shut the Falcon passing attack down for the most part, except right at the end of the game when they gave up a big pass down the left sidelines. The late game tension was finally broke with an interception on the near the Sabres goal line.
So it was not pretty, but it counts. The Sabres remain undefeated in league play as does their next opponent. Ardrossan beat Beaumont and also have a perfect 5-0 record. Next week's game will be for first place in Pool B and a bye in the first round of playoffs. The Sabres have to get out of their post trip funk or they will be in trouble against the Bisons. Game time is 5:00 at SAP, Oct 21.
September 22, 2004
Beaumont falls to the Sabres 43-0
Another decisive win and the Sabres post a 4-0 record. This time, the Sabres managed to get the elusive goose-egg as they shut out the Bandits from Beaumont 43-0. While the Sabres offense continues to roll over opponents, the defense has become the bigger story. Last week against O'Leary the Sabres' D managed to shut out the Spartans, but then Sal lost the shutout bid to a kick-off return that went for a touchdown. This week, the defense did it again but the score sheet better reflected how the defense has been playing. During the first few weeks of play the defense was suspect, allowing 27 points against over-matched opponents. Now those worries are dissipating as the Sabres defense continues to get stronger each week.
The Sabres' defense allowed less than 5 first downs all game and none in the first quarter. They got the ball back to the offense 5 times with a fumble recovery, an interception and three turnovers on downs (including two 3rd and short situations). With the defense playing so well, the Sabres offense continues to enjoy excellent field position all game long.
As for the Sabres' offense, they continue to race out of the gate firing on all cylinders. Against Beaumont, they knew of some Beaumont defensive tendencies and went to work on taking advantage of those tendencies right away. Their first two possessions were identical with the Sabres running the ball down the field with relative ease. By the time Beaumont figured out what the Sabres were doing, Sal was up 14-0. After their second possession, the Sabres offense went away from their unique formation to work on the rest of their playbook. In the end the Sabres wracked up another 405 yards offense with 300 yards and 4 touchdowns coming from their ground attack. While their passing game is still not where they want it, their 105 yards and 2 touchdowns came off of 8 receptions by 5 different players and is indication that their passing game continues to improve each week.
The victory just happened to be the 50th of Head Coach Cam Fraser’s career with the Sabres’ Senior Program since taking on the challenge in 1996. While only one coach on his staff remains from that 1996 season, Coach Fraser is quick to credit the work all of his coaches have done for the program over the years. It is likely the chemistry of the current staff, comprised of ex-Eskimos, ex-Golden Bears, Ex-Wildcats, and ex-high school stars, is the reason why this may be the best staff in the history of the program.
Next week most of that staff and the rest of the Sabres fly off to sunny southern California to play under the Friday Night Lights in San Diego. The Sabres are scheduled to play the Varsity team of the Bonita Vista Barons. The season the Barons are ranked just outside of the top10 prep schools in the San Diego area, and will likely demonstrate what high school football is like in the US. A review of that game will be available after the team returns next Sunday. Good luck men!
September 22, 2004
Sabres March Over Spartans 44-7
The Sabres continue to roll on. With a win over O'Leary, Sal's moves to 3-0 on the season. Early in the season, O'Leary appeared to have developed into a possible competitor. They won their first game against Beaumont who also looked good in the pre-season. Although, an exhibition game between Harry Ainlay and O'Leary a week ago, may have demonstrated O'Leary's true abilities. However, Sal was not about to take the game lightly.
The Sabres had minor goals to take care off. In their two first games, the defense had slow starts allowing opponents to get on the board early n the games. The glitch appeared to be solved as the Sabres' D prevented O'Leary from getting a first down until the second quarter. In fact, the defense held the O'Leary offense to around 5 first downs and 0 points the entire game. It was clear that O'Leary had a limited passing game, which allowed Sal to go after the Spartan backs as much as possible. The Spartans attempted a field goal from around 40 yards, but the ball landed well in front of the goal line and was returned almost to the place where the kick took place.
Offensively, the Sabres running game looked pretty regular in the first half. That is to say regular for them seems to be pretty much unstoppable. With their starting group playing there is no way to key on any back or the QB as they are all picking up around 100 yards per game. However, a small victory for the Sabres was that their first touchdown of the game came of a passing play, a play that came as a direct result of film watching and game planning. Four more touchdowns would follow in the first half leading to a first half score of 35-0.
Anyone showing up after the first half missed a solid performance by the Sabres; however, the second half was not so great. O’Leary returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and the following series by the Sabres offense were less than stellar. The chemistry seemed to dissolve due to multiple changes in personnel. The Sabres could only muster 3 more points in the third quarter and continued to sputter until they scored another touchdown late in fourth quarter.
A bright spot for the Sabres has been their punt and kickoff return teams. Both seem to be able to achieve substantial yards and have provided the Sal offense with short fields in all three games so far this season. With one touchdown on a kick-off return, another called back on a punt return and multiple 30+ yard returns this season, opponents now half to be aware of Sal's ability to score without the offense on the field.
The end result was a Sabre offensive squad that was very unhappy with the end result. They may have won the game by 5 touchdown, it was the lack of consistency that was disappointing. As the season progresses the games will get more difficult and the Sabres know that they will have to play their best in all four quarters.
Their next chance to see if their play can be improved will come next Thursday, September 30 against the Beaumont Bandits. The Bandits seemed to have a strong pre-season, and although they lost to O’Leary, they did a number on Bellerose and demonstrated that they can score points. That game is at SAP at 5:00.
September 17, 2004
Hurricane Sal hits Sherwood ParkWhile the wind and rain last night may have not been classified at a hurricane level, the relentless storm of Sabres the Sting faced last night must have been a nightmare for the young team from Ft. Saskatchewan. All aspects of the game for the Sabres scored last night including a kick off return for a touchdown and a defensive fumble recovery for another score. Going into the game last night the Sting was undefeated against the Sabres after beating them in their only other match up. A 28-26 loss in 1996. The Sabres more than evened the score with a 70-7 blow-out last night.
As the heavy rain came down, the Sabres went to work quickly with 70 yard return for a score on the opening kickoff. However, on the Sting's first possession, the took advantage of an ill-timed blitz and squirted a runningback through the line who managed to gain around 50 yards before being run down from behind. A few plays later, the Sting's QB ran the ball in for the tieing score.
Sabres Defense poised to cause a fumble and recover it for a touchdown
That would be it for the Sting. The defense shaped up and went after the Sting with great aggression. Ft. Saskatchewan could hardly move the ball at all after their first possession. The defense caused many fumbles and were in the backfield tracking down the QB or grabbing the runningbacks before they made it to the line of scrimmage. Their relentless attack paid off in the fourth quarter when the caused a fumble and recovered the ball in the Stings endzone.
With great field position all game, the offense made quick work with their possessions. The 6 rushing touchdowns average around 25-30 yards and two passing touchdowns were from around 20 and 15 yards. Sal's leading touchdown-scoring back added another three touchdowns to the five he scored on Monday. Another back got his first three of the season, while their third scored his first touchdown of the season. Five Sabres were on the receiving end of passes as their starting QB passed close to 60% completion rate. (Sal's back-up QB was 1-1 and continues to have a 100% completion rate).
Most likely the biggest factor on the slippery field was the play of the offensive and defensive line. They had the their opponents skidding backwards to open holes or to bust up plays all night. Their efforts led to many touchdowns or big losses.
The Sabres now have to quickly refocus as their next opponent will be a stronger team. O'Leary also won their opening game on Monday and had the bye this week. They will have had more than a week to prepare for the Sabres, while Sal will only have Monday and Tuesday night to get ready to take on the Spartans since the game is this Wednesday. The game is still at 5:00 at SAP.
(The Sabres thank the parents and fans who stuck it out in the monsoon last night. See you Wednesday!)
September 14, 2004
Sabres Run Away from Bellerose for a 50-20 Home OpenerWith a score of 50 – 20, one might be satisfied with the first game of the season. However, all Sal’s points came from the ground game and there was also the matter of 20 points being scored against them by an opponent with limited options.
To be successful, a team has to establish the running game. This was not a problem for the Sabres as they marched down the field on their first possession using nothing but running plays. The series was capped with a 16 pitch play (the convert was missed). During the next few series, some pass plays were intermingled with the run plays, but had limited success. The lost momentum fueled a Bulldog drive that eventually ended with a touchdown and a 7-6 lead. So back to the running plays went the Sabres and another drive was punctuated with a 25 yard TD run up the middle (convert was made). And this was the pattern throughout the night…. sputter with the pass… hand the ball off and score. The third touchdown of the first half was another pitch, this one for 13 yards and was the third for the same back. Now the Sabres had a solid 21 – 7 lead and they would not look back… well maybe a few sideways glances. The fourth touchdown of the half was a 5 yard option with the Sabres’ QB optioning to keep the ball and duck into the endzone. The last big moment of the half was a 70 yard punt return for a touchdown. However, a last minute block from behind away from the play negated the touchdown and the score remained 28-7 at the end of the half.
The time off at half time was apparently detrimental to the Sabres as they essentially took the quarter off. They did not score, and the Salisbury defense allowed a long run for a touchdown that cut the lead in half. Sensing that Bellerose was getting too close for comfort, Sal attacked again with the run. Sal’s “other” runningback then turned what appeared to be a loss of three into a gain of 57 yards. The run was an amazing example of scat-back type running, and being the generous player he is, he decided to allow someone else to score. On the next play his running mate scampered into the endzone for the fourth time from 20 yards out. The score was then 36 – 14. Soon afterwards Sal’s “other” runningback again chewed up another 42 yards on single play and again allowed for someone else to score. This time is was the Sabres’ QB who ran the ball in from 8 yards out.
During the game the Sal defense was coming hard and sending backers on blitzes. For the most part the scheme was successful, however in the 4th quarter the Bulldogs guessed right as the Sabres guessed wrong. The Bellerose back squeaked through the interior and out-sprinted everyone to score their third touchdown of the game. The score was then 43-20.
Late in the game the Sabres made a QB switch, giving game time to their back-up. Curiously, he was 2-2 for 60 yards with one pass going for a touchdown on screen play (The fifth touchdown of the night for the back). The touchdown made the score 50-20 and that’s how the game ended. Offensively, the Sabres wracked up 486 yards in total offense, of which 354 came on the ground. Most of the yardage was split among three players; one with 158 yards, another with 107 yards and the QB contributing 89 yards. The starting QB went 4 -10 for 72 yards and the back-up threw for 60 yards and one touchdown. The lack of the passing attack was a concern for the Sabres, but they are not panicked. In the pre-season jamboree, at least half if not more than half of the scoring was done through the air. It is hoped that the bugs have been worked out and they will have a more balanced attack against Ft. Saskatchewan. And if not, they know they can run the ball to score when they need to.
Next game is at SAP at 7:30 against the Sting of Fort Saskatchewan.
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