Please note: As this is a team orientated web site, rarely are names mentioned in the summaries. If you are interested to know who were making the big plays, please contact us at jd@sabresfootball.com
Sabres season ends with heartbreaker to AOB
Oct 28, 2005Because they have such a young team this year, Sal's goals were modest: have a winning record and then try to make some noise in the playoffs. Their regular season goal was 4-2 as that would most likely get them into a playoff spot. They finished with a 5-1 record, so the goal of a winning record was achieved. However, their goal of surprising opponents in the playoffs backfired with a loss in the quarterfinals against AOB 18-15 in overtime.
Sal started with a 1-0 lead with a single off a missed field goal. The Sabres' D would hold that lead until half time. After the half time break, Sal easily drove the field and scored to take a 8-0 lead. Again the defense would do their part and hold the lead until the 4th quarter. However, after a key injury, and battling the huge offensive line of the Crusaders, the Sabres' defense started to have a tough time stopping the AOB backs before they would get 6-7 yards. With under 5 minutes to play in the game, AOB managed to push the Sabre D down the field and into the endzone. With a successful 2 point conversion, AOB tied the game. Unfortunately for the Sabres, the ball was fumbled on the kickoff return, providing AOB with a short field that they again
marched the ball down to score and take a 15-8 lead. All seemed lost, as under two minutes was left on the clock. However, the Sabres managed to put a nice drive of pass plays together and capped off their quick drive with a 26 yard pass into the endzone to tie the game (the convert was good).
So into overtime they went... AOB's offense went first and managed to get close enough to kick a field goal and take a 18-15 lead. So the Sabres had to
score at least a field goal to tie. Unfortunately, they barely made it over the 30 yard line before they too had to try a field goal. Their attempt was wide and so AOB won the game.
It is always tough to lose early in a season. The Sabres were just getting a taste of the playoffs, and now they will have to watch from the sidelines. It was a good experience for the young team, as those that will be returning next year have an idea of where the team needs to be next season. The good news is that most are returning. In fact the Sabres will only have to replace two receivers, their fullback and one offensive lineman. The other good news is that they are rather deep in players waiting to get their turn to fill those spots. Defensively, they will again only lose a few players in the backfield and a defensive lineman. So the silver lining of the short season is that the returning players can start thinking of how they will do things differently come 2006.
A tale of two games - The sequel
Oct 21, 2005
The last game of the regular season turned out very similar to the first game of the season. Two distinct halves. The first half was a "gong-show", with the first quarter being so ridiculous to the point of being comedic. Both Sal and O'Leary had trouble getting things going: execution was non-existent, penalty flags were flying, teams has too many men on the field... you name it.
When Sal finally got into a groove and marched down the field, they had to settle for a field goal one of their wide receivers found himself all alone in the endzone, but dropped a ball that hit him in the
chest. Fortunately for O'Leary, the Spartans snapped out it in the second quarter. They scored one touchdown after a sustained drive, and then again after the Sabres fumbled on their own 30-yardline. It looked like Sal was going to be heading into the dressing room behind be a couple of scores. However, Sal finally snapped out of their bad start and put a nice drive of passes and runs together that started with just over a minute left in the half. With seconds left in the half, the Sabres ran the ball in from the 6 yardline, cutting the lead to 14-10.
Very similar to the first game against Bellerose, the Sabres switched their offensive scheme into the option offense. From that point on, the big boys up front controlled O'Leary and were able to move the ball at will. Most of the running came from the Sabres' fullback. As mentioned before, this site rarely mentions names, but Alex Balogan ran like a horse, wracking up close to 150 yards on the night, providing one of Sal's three touchdowns on the night. With two unanswered touchdowns in the second half, and the Sabres's D shutting the Spartan's running
game down, the Sabres came back from behind to win 24-14.
With the win the Sabres lock up second in Pool B. They now play the cross-over quarterfinals against AOB who lost to St. Albert in the last game of the season. That game is Thursday at Foote Field at 7:30. The winner of that game takes on ABJ in the semi finals next Tuesday.
Sal earns yet another Carr playoff berth
Oct 14, 2005The Sabres' streak for making the playoffs goes back close to 30 years. They haven't missed the Carr playoffs since 1997. With their victory over the hard fighting Bisons from Ardrossan, they have guaranteed themselves a chance to defend their Carr title.
Sal started slow and were only able to put up 5 points in the first half. In fact, due their fumble-itis, Ardrossan had the lead going into the third quarter. Ardrossan's only score of the game came off a fake punt that was executed perfectly. The rest of the game, the Sabres' D didn't let the Bisons into scoring range.
Ardrossan did a good job stopping Sal's running attack. Only a couple of times did a Sabre runningback or quarterback break a big play for over 20 yards. So some half-time adjustments were made, the most important was the decision to attack through the air.
The Sabres passing attack move the ball more efficiently than the run. Sal was getting big gains of 20, 25 and 30 yards through the air. In fact, the Sabres only touchdown of the game came after two back to back 25-30 yard receptions by one of Sal's slotbacks. The drive was capped by a QB sneak from the 4-yard line. Sal's other scoring came from singles, a safety and a 32-yard fieldgoal.
Now the Sabres face O'Leary for the second seed in Pool B and the right to play the third place team in Pool A. Amazingly, the Sabres haven't lost to the Spartans in over 10 years. Back in those days the Sabres and Spartans battled for Carr titles. O'Leary has finally regrouped and look to get back into the action. Game time is 5:00 on Friday Oct 21 at SAP.
Sal takes St. Mary's in a Squeaker
Oct 8, 2005
It is always hard to prepare for a team without knowing anything about them. Sal went in cold-turkey against St. Mary's of Calgary today, and after a half of struggling, they managed to pull out a victory.
Maybe it was the fact that Sal just played two nights ago or it was the lack of knowledge of their opponent, but the first half of today's exhibition was a write off for the offense. Not much could be said about the Saints' offense as well, although they did manage one big play in the first half; a 73 yard pass and catch.
In fact the whole game was pretty much a battle of the defenses as neither team could string too many plays together before being forced
to kick the ball away or turning it over. Both teams had multiple fumbles and interceptions. All of the scoring was a result of big plays. In the second half, the Sabres created and recovered a fumble which was returned to the Saints' 4 yard line. A couple of plays later and the Sabres had a 8-7 lead off a QB sneak (the Sabres missed a field goal attempt in the 2nd quarter). A few series later the Sabres called what looked like a harmless and miss-blocked offtackle play, but the Sabres' runningback shed about 7 tackles and took off for a 65 yard touchdown and a 15-7 lead. But the Saints did not give up and turned to their passing game to move the ball. For the most part the Sabres' D held the pass attack in check,
but they did give up a couple of long plays. One just happened to be a 60 yard pass and run over the top. The Saints attempt at a 2 point conversion was foiled and the Sabres were still in the lead 15-13.
From that point, both defenses took over and the scoring was finished. The Sabres mounted one last drive, but then took a knee on the Saints' 18 yard line.
Playing a team Sal had never played before was refreshing. They also presented Sal with a few problems that when fixed, will prove handy down the playoff road. Now the Sabres have a short week to prepare for Ardrossan on Thursday. If Sal can win that game, they will clinch a spot in the Carr playoffs which has been their goal all year. Game time is 7:30 once again at Foote Field.
Sabres TD Slump Ends - Score 9 Against the Fort
Oct 7, 2005
Over the last couple of weeks against Facey and Scona, the Sabres offense has had a terrible time getting the ball into the endzone. This struggle came to an end with a 63-0 win over last place Fort Saskatchewan. The game also marked the defense's first shut out of the season.
Things started fine with the defense getting the Sabres the ball back immediately. The Sabre offense then went to work, mostly behind the strong running of their fullback and QB. The drive finally ended with a three yard QB sneak. Due to a bad snap/hold on the convert, a scrambled ended with a 5 yard pass for two points and the Sabres had a quick 8-0 lead.
The defense would continue to get the offense the ball with multiple two-and-outs and turn-overs. The offense would convert on most of their possessions. Following the TD, 8 more were scored: #2 via a 45 yard run up the middle by the fullback, #3 a 15 yard out to the wide receiver, #4 a crossing route by a slotback that was taken in, #5 a 4 yard pass into the endzone that was set up by another 30 yard run by the fullback, #6 a 20 yard pass and run to the fullback, #7 a 25 yard run up the
middle by the second team tailback who did it again from 10 yards on their next possession, and finally #9 a routine offtackle that turned into a 35 yard TD up the sidelines. The 9 touchdowns were scored by 7 different Sabres. Of the passing, 7 different Sabres had receptions.
Overall it was a good game for the offense get some time to work on a few kinks. The defense was a strong as usual. The Sabres now have a short rest as in two days they take on St. Mary's from Calgary. After Saturday's game the Sabres will have to reload to play their 3rd game in a weeks time. That game is against Ardrossan.
Keystone Sabres Lose in Exhibition
Sept. 30, 2005If it wasn't so heart-breaking, it would have been humourous. In an exhibition game last night, the Sabres took on the reigning Public League champs, the Scona Lords. Unfortunately, what could have been a close game, wasn't as the Sabres continuously shot themselves in the foot time and time again as they bumbled, stumbled, fumbled and literally tripped over each other.
Things got off to a rough start with Scona taking the opening kickoff for a touchdown. On the Sabres first drive, things looked great. They appeared to be moving the ball with ease. Unfortunately, a fumble ended the drive and Scona took over and added a second touchdown on a 40 yard pass and catch.
That was pretty much the theme of the night. Every drive but one was snuffed out by a bad penalty or a turnover. In total, the Sabres fumbled 5 times and were picked off once. Three of the fumbles were in the red zone of Scona. The Sabres D tried to do their part with a pick of their own and multiple sacks on the very agile Scona pivot, but without scoring they could only go so far.
In the end Scona used consistent play to chalk up 4 touchdowns to the Sabres 1. After the embarrassing loss Scona at the hands of Ainlay last week, the Lords looked like they were back in form.
While the Sabres' D played strong again, the offense continues to struggle to score. There were positives such as moving the ball on long drives (before the turn-overs), and scoring their first touchdown since the Beaumont game. But they will need more to finish strong in what remains of their Metro schedule.
Next week the Sabres take on the winless Ft. Sask Sting. It may be a weaker opponent than Scona, but the Sabres can ill afford to take them lightly. With O'Leary winning their game this week, they move into second place. The Sabres will need a win against the Fort to keep pace with Bev Facey. Game time is 7:30 next Thursday at SAP.
Tale of Two Games
Sept. 9, 2005It's cliché when you talk about a game that seemed like two different games in each half, but that is exactly what took place last night against Bellerose. One could chalk it up to being overconfident due to the fact that the Sabres have never lost to Bellerose. However, most of the Sabres aren’t aware of such history since most of the players are rookies. Rather, it seemed more like a case of bad nerves and rookie mistakes that led to a first half nightmare that the Sabres were glad to wake up from.
The Sabres put the first point on the board with a 40 yard single off a punt. But that would be all the scoring for Sal for the rest of the half. Mental mistakes, ill-timed penalties and a lack of execution killed drive after drive. Defensively, the Sabres were tough to move the ball against and limited the Bulldogs to only a few first downs. However, the D cracked on two occasions. The first came in the first quarter when the Bellerose tailback sliced through the middle of the line and ran for a 60 yard TD. The second was a 50 yard catch and run by a Bulldog slotback on a seam route. A stunned Sal was down 14-1 at the half.
It was during the half time break when the team relaxed and the game plan was slightly modified. The adjustments made at the break seemed to work as the Sabres came out and dominated play in the second half. Drives became more consistent as the Sabres’ option offense started clicking. Twice in the third quarter the Sabres’ offense drove the field and capped off each drive with a short plunge. However, the convert team was having trouble and both touchdowns went unconverted, and so the Sabres still trailed 14-13 at the end of the third quarter.
One of the most impressive observations during the second half, and more so in the fourth quarter was the character the Sabres showed in not panicking. It was clear that the Sabres D was not going to let Bellerose come into scoring position, so they only had to guard against the big play. With the defense shutting the Bulldogs down, the offense just had to have patience and wait for their scoring opportunity. During the last 5 minutes of the game, the opportunity came. The Sabres once again put together another long drive of dives and off-tackle option plays and drove down to the 3 yard-line. Once again they managed to punch the ball in to finally take the lead in the game 19-14. To ensure they stayed a converted touchdown ahead, the Sabres went for a two point conversion. A holding call knocked the Sabres back to the Bulldogs’ 15 yard-line, but one of the best receptions we may see all year was made at the back of the endzone by a Sabres slotback to make the final score 21-14.
The first half looked reminiscent of the Hanna Jamboree, but the second half was played by the team that did so well at the ME Lazerte Jamboree. While the technical execution seemed to get better as the game moved on, it was the display of team character that was the key to the game. Such character is normally displayed by veteran clubs, and may be an indication of great things for this young club.
Next week, the Sabres take on their opponents from last year’s Carr semi-finals the Beaumont Bandits. The game is scheduled for Thursday September 15 at 7:30. The game is at Foote Field.
Pre-season Success
Sept. 5, 2005The final pre-season warm-up games took place this past weekend for the Sabres at the ME Lazerte Football Jamboree. This year, the Sabres were scheduled to face Ross Sheppard, Parkland, Grande Prairie (again) and Peace River. Overall things went very well for the young Sabres who went 3-1 on the day.
The morning started with the Sabres playing against the Thunderbirds from Ross Shep. Last year, the Sabres walked all over Shep, but that was with a veteran team. This year, the outcome could not be predicted, especially after a relatively poor showing for the Sabres in Hanna the weekend before.
Things did not start well for the Sabres. On the very first play of the game, a bad exchange between the QB and runningback resulted in a fumble that was recovered by the T-Birds. However, a few plays later the Sabres’ safety managed to regain possession with an interception. But the offense would sputter again, giving up what would be a safety in a regular scoring game. It would only be a short series for Ross Shep as the Sabres D had the T-Birds “punting". The Sabres had the ball just on their side of center. One play later equated to a 60-yard reception and run that put the Sabres up one score to none. The Sabres were able to move the ball again on their next drive that included a 40-yard run up the middle. The drive was concluded with another passing TD, this time from only 8 yards out. The Sabres D continued to play well throughout the game and added a second interception late in the game. The only blemish on the defense was that the T-Birds managed to score with a passing play of their own on the very last play of the game. The final score was 2-1 for the Sabres.
Sal’s second game would be against a more talented and tougher team from Parkland. The Predators had more size and speed than the T-Birds. However, the Sabres D stepped up again and kept the game close. This game would be a more defensive battle as both offenses struggled to score. In the end, a 40-yard scamper up the middle by the Parkland tailback would be the difference. Parkland would win 1-0 as the Sabres offense had trouble getting into scoring position during both of their possessions.
The Sabres then found a new gear and took it to their next two opponents. First up was Grande Prairie. This would be the third time the Sabres had faced their northern rivals this year. The Sabres beat the Warriors in both their games against in the St. Albert spring tournament, and the result would be no different in the ME Lazerte Tournament. Sal’s first drive of the game took only 6 plays before the score was 1-0. This drive included a 45-yard catch and run off a tipped passed. This set the Sabres up on the Warriors 5-yard line and they punched the ball in on the next play. Grande Prairie was playing with a no-punt policy and the Sabres defense soon had their offense back on the field on the 1-yard line. A fullback dive later, and the score was 2-0 for the Sabres. Another Sabres’ interception was returned to the GP 20 yard line. From there, the Sabres chipped away at the Warriors until they were again on the 1-yard line. A QB sneak made the score 3-0 and that is how the game ended.
The Sabres went into their final game with a 2-1 record. All hoped to better their 2-2 record from Hanna. The Sabres had never played Peace River and did not know what to expect. What they got was a very good QB and a great set of backs. PR managed to move the ball somewhat, but the
Sabres’ defense were quick to snuff out any dangerous drives. On the Sabres’ first play of their second possession, a quick seam passed resulted in a 80-yard TD for a 1-0 lead. The next series saw Sal’s leading receiver and scorer take over the reins at QB. He proceeded to march the Sabres down the field and ended his drive with a 20-yard TD pass to (ironically) the QB who had thrown him his own three touchdowns. After the Sabres’ D managed to get the ball back once again, the Sabres once again moved the ball down field and capped another drive off, this time with a 35-yard option to the tailback. Like the game before, the final score was 3-0.
In general, this young Sabre team heads into the regular season fully confident that they will be competitive this year and will not give up their Carr title without a fight. The results of the ME Lazerte Jamboree are encouraging. In four 35 minute games, the offense scored 8 touchdowns, with 6 of them through the air. Defensively, the Sabres were only scored on twice, plus they had three interceptions, a couple of fumble recoveries and a few sacks. Things are looking surprising good after only a couple of weeks of practices.
On Thursday, the Sabres face the Bellerose Bulldogs. Normally, this St. Albert team arrives with a relatively weak team. However, this year they have some gifted athletes and have a chance of making their presence known in the Metro League. The Sal defense will have their hands full with the Bulldogs’ rushing game. The game has been moved from Clarke Stadium to Goldstick Park. Game time is still 5pm.
Post Script: It is the regular policy of this website to withhold the names of players in write-ups as it is a team-orientated site. However, on occassion players have days for which they should be singled out. Sal's Troy Harrison, a grade 11 student in his second year with the Sabres scored three receiving touchdowns that covered 128 yards on those three plays alone. He also added a 20-yard passing touchdown as QB and two interceptions as the Sabres' safety. Not a bad day of football.
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