Football Canada – FCC2018 : Host Alberta defeats British Columbia in front of hometown crowd

On Monday night at Shouldice Park in Calgary, host Alberta gave their fans something to cheer about by defeating British Columbia 31-21.

Alberta opened the scoring with 5:35 left in the first quarter when pivot Anton Amundrud found Adley Mayala for a 70-yard touchdown.

British Columbia threw an interception into the hands of Keon Adams who takes the ball to the 1 yard line, giving Alberta another chance to strike.

Matthew Peterson snuck into the end zone for a 1 yard major to increase Alberta’s lead with 4:14 left in the first quarter.

However, British Columbia made things interesting before the half as Trey Jones found Keelan White for a touchdown score, cutting Alberta’s lead.

At halftime, Alberta had a 13-7 advantage over British Columbia.

White would tally his second major of the game with 9:08 left in the third quarter to give British Columbia a slim one point lead.

Jonathan Giustini added a field goal to give the host back the lead late in the third quarter.

With 2:10 left in the quarter, Mayala would score his second touchdown of the game – a 32 yard reception.

British Columbia tried to mount a late comeback.  Trey Jones connected with Sebastian Hansen for a 5 yard touchdown with 2:37 left in the game.

However, Alberta put the game out of reach when Jaxon Hume tallied a major to round out the scoring.

Offensive Players of the Game were Mayala (Alberta) and White (British Columbia).  Defensive Players of the Game were Daniel Flanagan (Alberta) and Addison Sadler (British Columbia).

“Our guys just kept making plays and kept coming,” commented Alberta Head Coach Chris Morris after the win.  “The danger for us was playing in front of all of our friends and family and with thegame being so close and with us tightening up and the guys understood and just had to keep coming at them.”

“The more we kept coming, the more we kept playing and then we started breaking out and that was good.”

For British Columbia, costly mistakes determined their fate in the game.

“It’s not too much to explain,” assessed British Columbia Head Coach Cory Philpot after the game.  “When you get all those penalties and you turn over the ball – we had seven turnovers, you can’t win a football game.”

“At the end of the day, we’re here to play.”

Alberta will now battle Quebec on Thursday July 19, 2018 at 7:00 MST.  Meanwhile, British Columbia will face New Brunswick on the same day at 10:00am MST.

FCC2018: Quebec earns shutout victory over New Brunswick

Calgary, AB (July 17, 2018) – Coming into their opening game of the tournament, New Brunswick had high hopes despite being labelled as the underdog in their game against Quebec.

However, the defending gold medallists from Quebec proved to be a handful for New Brunswick to handle.  Quebec earned a 56-0 shutout victory over New Brunswick at the 2018 Football Canada Cup at Shouldice Park in Calgary, Alberta.

Quebec opened the scoring when Xavier Lacoste added a field goal with over four minutes left in the first quarter.

Nicholas Cenacle tallied two majors in the same quarter while Xavier Tremblay handed the ball off to Olivier Lapointe for a touchdown score.

With 50 seconds before the half, Cenacle would score his third touchdown of the game.

At halftime, Quebec enjoyed a 32-0 lead over New Brunswick.

It was more of the same for Quebec in the second half.

Quarterback Marc-Antoine Allard snuck into the end zone for a 1 yard major with 9:04 remaining in the third quarter.

Merton Theagene sprinted into the end zone for a rushing touchdown. New Brunswick also gave up a single to Quebec.

With 5:40 remaining in the game, New Brunswick conceded a safety to round out the scoring.

Offensive Players of the Game were Cenacle (Quebec) and Cody Barton (New Brunswick). Defensive Players of the Game were Dorian Daniel-Royal (Quebec) and Lucas Cormier (New Brunswick).

“We didn’t know much about this team coming in so we just played well and executed well on all three sides,” commented Quebec Head Coach Marco Iadeluca after the win.  “That’s what we wanted to do.”

Despite the loss, New Brunswick is taking the positives from this game and plan to build upon them for the duration of the tournament and beyond.

“We played a great football team and we got better towards the end which is even better,” assessed New Brunswick Head Coach Chris Hopkins after the game.  “It’s about improvement throughout the 48 minutes of the game.”

“When you play a team like Quebec, you start to play to that level.  I think we got better in 48 minutes so we build on the positives, we correct the mistakes and keep going forward.”

Quebec’s next challenge will be Alberta on Thursday July 19, 2018 at 7:00pm MST.  New Brunswick will square off against British Columbia on the same day at 10:00am MST.

FCC2018: Strong second half defensive catapults Ontario past Nova Scotia

Calgary, AB (July 17, 2018) – A dominant second half performance from the defence powered Ontario to a 27-11 win over Nova Scotia at the 2018 Football Canada Cup at Shouldice Park in Calgary, Alberta.

Nova Scotia opened the scoring when Ben Hadley was successful on a 21 yard field goal with 3:48 left in the first quarter.

However, Ontario responded back when Jeremiah Nyambiya scores a touchdown with 2:56 left in the 1st quarter to give the team the lead.

After Nova Scotia concedes a safety, Cameron Creechan added a field goal to increase Ontario’s lead in the second quarter.

At halftime, Ontario had a 12-3 lead over Nova Scotia.

With 11:41 remaining in the game, Cameron Guest tallied a major and Ontario was successful on the two-point conversion attempt.

Nova Scotia responded when Allan Young connected with Riley Felix for a touchdown score to pull the team within 9 points of Ontario.

Ontario put the game out of reach when Ryan Licandro connected with Ethan MacKinnon to round out the scoring.

Offensive Players of the Game were Guest (Ontario) and Jayden Simmonds (Nova Scotia).  Defensive Players of the Game were Devin Veresuk (Ontario) and Ryaan Dalloul (Nova Scotia).

“Defensively, we played very well, especially in the second half” commented Ontario Head Coach Glen Mills after the game.  “We kind of gave up one long touchdown pass, I think our kids played pretty well.”

“We were physical, which we wanted to do.  Offensively, we got rolling but still too many turnovers and I think we got the ball moving in the second half.”

As for Nova Scotia, the team will now shift their focus for the remainder of the tournament.

“It’s the game of football; things happen here and there,” assessed Nova Scotia Head Coach Bryce Fisher after the loss.  “We prepped for them really hard the last little while and things happen and we just got to rally back from here on out, just focusing on our next opponent and just finishing this tournament strong.”

“Our guys played well.  They rallied from a deficit to really pressure these guys in some situations and that’s all I could ask for.”

Ontario moves on to play Saskatchewan on Thursday July 19, 2018 at 4:00pm MST.  Nova Scotia will square off against Manitoba at 1:00pm MST.

FCC2018 : Saskatchewan capitalizes on turnovers to win big over Manitoba

Calgary, AB (July 17, 2018) – Timely turnovers allowed Saskatchewan to pull away with a 48-6 win over Manitoba in the opening game of the 2018 Football Canada Cup at Shouldice Park in Calgary, Alberta.

On the opening kickoff, Ramsey Derbas returned the ball all the way down into the end zone to give Saskatchewan the early lead.

Derbas blocked a punt, and it was recovered by Elias Deptuch which gave Saskatchewan excellent field position being down at the 2-yard line. The end result was that Luke Hornung snuck into the end zone for a 1 yard major at 1:43 of the 1st quarter.

With 7:46 left in the quarter, Saskatchewan continued to have the bounces going their way as Manitoba throws an interception into the hands of Dillon Kiefer who converts it into a 66-yard touchdown.

Emmett Steadman was successful on a 30-yard field goal attempt.  He would also add a 36-yard field goal with 2:05 left in the second quarter.

At halftime, Saskatchewan enjoyed a 27-0 lead over Manitoba.

In the third quarter, Hornung would get his second touchdown of the game.

With 9:03 remaining in the game, Manitoba showed signs of life with Deion Nelson scored a seven-yard major.

However, Saskatchewan continued to add to their points on the scoreboard.  With 5:13 left in the game, Keegan Kaytor connected with Taggart Rowell for a 25 yard touchdown reception.

A fumble recovery by Reece Kack put Saskatchewan at the 14 yard line.  This resulted in Hornung getting this third major of the game to round out the scoring.

Offensive Players of the Game were Kaytor (Saskatchewan)  and Braydon Stubbs (Manitoba). Defensive Players of the Game were Jaxon Runge (Saskatchewan) and Austin Balan.

“We won it like we expected to win it with special teams, strong defence and offensive that was going to be strong,” commented Saskatchewan Head Coach Jeff Stusek after the game.  “In the end, I thought we did a good job on all three phases.”

“The team really stepped up and the heat didn’t bother us so we were ok.”

As for Manitoba,  the team was disappointed by the outcome.

“We as the coaches really thought we were ready to play,” assessed Manitoba Head Coach Ryan Karhut.  “We thought our guys were ready to go.”

“We just came out very flat, we weren’t sure of ourselves and we turned over the ball three times in the first four minutes which turned into 21 points really quick.  We ended up with six turnovers for 42 points.  It’s tough to win a football game when you do that to yourself.”

Saskatchewan moves on to play Ontario in one semi-final on Thursday July 19, 2018 at 4:00pm MST.  Meanwhile, Manitoba will battle Nova Scotia on the same day at 1:00pm MST.

For media accreditation, please contact Football Canada Media Coordinator Ameeta Vohra at avohra@footballcanada.com or (902) 237-5215.

All games will be streamed on FootballCanada.TV.  CLICK HERE TO WATCH

For scores, recaps, schedules, previews and rosters please check out the tournament page HERE.

Learn more

For more information about the event, please visit www.footballcanada.com.

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Use the hashtag #FCC2018 on social media. 

Established in 1884, Football Canada is the national governing body of amateur football in Canada and a proud member of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). Working closely with the provincial football associations, we develop programs and resources for players, coaches, officials in the three disciplines of Tackle, Flag and Touch Football. Football Canada’s vision statement is “from playground to stadium” where players can participate in the game of football throughout a lifetime recreationally, competitively and internationally.