Football Canada – FCC2018 RECAP: Alberta pulls off major upset by ending Quebec’s reign

Calgary, AB (July 20, 2018) – On Thursday night at Shouldice Park in Calgary, host Alberta knocked off defending gold medallists Quebec 24-13 in front of the hometown crowd.

After a scoreless first quarter, Alberta opened the scoring when Jonathan Giustini added a 17 yard field goal with 6:58 left before the half.

Quebec responded back when Nicholas Cenacle sprinted down the field for a touchdown score to give the team the lead.

With 1:56 left before the half, Matthew Peterson powered his way into the end zone and tallied a major for Alberta.

However, Tiemoko Sanogo runs into the end zone for a touchdown with eight seconds left before the half.

At halftime, Quebec held a 13-10 advantage over Alberta.

Peterson would tally his second major of the game to give the host the lead back with 5:51 left in the third quarter.  

Alberta would seal the victory when Romeo Nash converts a pick six into a touchdown score.

Offensive Players of the Game were Peterson (Alberta) and Cenacle (Quebec).  Defensive Players of the Game were Nash (Alberta) and Yshad-Shane Benjamin (Quebec)

With this victory, Alberta ended Quebec’s string of winning gold the last three tournaments. Quebec has won the past six of seven gold medals at Football Canada Cups.

“We just made some plays,” commented Alberta Head Coach Chris Morris after the win.  “We had some guys step up and made interceptions, we had some guys who made some huge runs and we had some guys who made huge blocks.”

“The game of football comes down to if you make more plays then they do you win.  We have such a great, confident group of kids here that I’m excited to keep going forward.”

While disappointed with the loss, Quebec gave props to Alberta on their win.

“On offence, we had way too many turnovers and defensively, we couldn’t stop the run,” assessed Quebec Head Coach Marco Iadeluca.  “It just wasn’t our night and they played a good game.”

“Hats off to Coach Morris and his staff; they did a great job. They played an outstanding game and they were the better team tonight.”

Host Alberta will battle Saskatchewan for the gold medal on Sunday July 22, 2018 at 3:00pm MST.  As for Quebec, they square off against Ontario for the bronze medal on the same day at 12:00pm MST.

FCC2018 RECAP: Momentum shift in second half powers Saskatchewan past Ontario

Calgary,AB (July 20, 2018) – Saskatchewan put together a huge second half to defeat Ontario 32-8 to advance to the gold medal game at the 2018 Football Canada Cup at Shouldice Park in Calgary, Alberta.

Cameron Creechan got Ontario on the scoreboard first as he added a 27 yard field goal to give the team a 3-0 lead with 2:44 left in the first quarter.

Ontario would extend their lead as Creechan added his second field goal of the day (42 yards).  Additionally, Saskatchewan conceded a safety to give Ontario an 8-0 advantage with 2:41 before the half.

Saskatchewan’s Keegan Kaytor would sprint down the field in to the end zone to pull the team within two points before halftime.

At halftime, Ontario led Saskatchewan 8-6.

In the second half, there was a momentum shift in Saskatchewan’s favour as the team scored 24 unanswered points.

Emmett Steadman (5 yard) and Ryker Frank (1-yard) each tallied a major in the third quarter for Saskatchewan.

With 10:53 left in the game, Luke Hornung dove into the end zone for a 2 yard major.  Steadman would put the game out of reach with a 30 yard field goal to round out the scoring.

Offensive Players of the Game were Kaytor (Saskatchewan) and Ethan MacKinnon (Ontario).  Defensive Players of the Game were Ramsey Derbas (Saskatchewan) and Drake Bodi (Ontario).

“We started so poorly in the first quarter,” recalled Saskatchewan Head Coach Jeff Stusek of the game.  “We turned the ball over three times but we preached facing adversity all week.”

“Coming in, the game was going to change and we stayed with it; we had discipline and our special teams and defence hung in while our offence got rolling.”

As for Ontario, things were going into their favour until the momentum shift happened due to discipline and penalty issues.

“We had 19 penalties for 190 yards or 186 yards and you aren’t going to win many football games,”  assessed Ontario Head Coach Glen Mills after the game.  “We talked about it before the game, we talked about it at halftime and until the last drive of the first half, we had our penalties in check and we took three unnecessary roughness penalties on that drive and they were able to score and make it 8-6.”

“Then, a couple of penalties again and they regained short field and they had blocked punts and we just didn’t execute.”

Saskatchewan will tangle with Alberta for the gold medal on Sunday July 22, 2018 at 3:00pm MST while Ontario meets Quebec in the bronze medal game at 12:00pm MST.

Calgary, AB (July 20, 2018) – Manitoba rallied in the second half to defeat Nova Scotia 18-13 on Thursday afternoon at the 2018 Football Canada Cup in Calgary, Alberta’s Shouldice Park.

Nova Scotia opened the scoring when Ben Hadley added a 37 yard field goal to give the team the lead with 3:39 left in the first quarter.

Just 36 seconds into the second quarter, Manitoba’s Owen Brown added a field goal to pull the team within three points of Nova Scotia.

Manitoba had a bobbled snap and Nova Scotia capitalized on the mistake as Cole Cooper scored a defensive touchdown for the team with 7:58 remaining before the half.

At halftime, Nova Scotia had a 13-3 advantage over Manitoba.

In the second half, Manitoba scored 15 unanswered points.  Brown added his second field goal of the game in the third quarter.

With 7:23 left in the game, Isheanasu Matanga sprints into the end zone for a six yard major to give Manitoba the lead. 

Nova Scotia conceded a safety to Manitoba to round out the scoring.

Offensive Players of the Game were Breydon Stubbs (Manitoba) and Dawson Kierstead (Nova Scotia).  Defensive Players of the Game were Austin Balan (Manitoba) and Cooper (Nova Scotia).

“Timely plays in the second half; we had  a fake punt that might of not have been the best call in the world but our player made up for it and Austin did a great job to get us the first down,” commented Manitoba Head Coach Ryan Karhut after the game.  “We kind of had the wind in the fourth quarter which I wasn’t a big fan of and we had them pinned deep in their zone and we were fortunate to get another turnover in the red zone.”

“We got the ball rolling on offence to push it in to get the leading score so it was pretty timely in that sense.”

After a strong first half, discipline played a significant factor in Nova Scotia’s fate in the remainder of the game.

“The guys came out strong in the first half,” assessed Nova Scotia Head Coach Bryce Fisher.  “In the second half, we came out good but it’s kind of lack of discipline – some dumb penalties at key points in the game.”

“At some point, we’ve to rally together and pick things up. They played a great game and rallied together and other than that, we have to move on to our next opponent.”

Manitoba will battle British Columbia on Sunday July 22, 2018 at 9:30am MST.  Meanwhile, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick square off in an all-Maritime battle at 10:00am MST.

FCC2018 RECAP: British Columbia earns shutout over New Brunswick

Calgary, AB (July 20, 2018)  – On Thursday morning at Shouldice Park in Calgary, Alberta, British Columbia earned a 10-0 shutout victory over New Brunswick at the 2018 Football Canada Cup.

After a scoreless first half, Yosef Drysdale added a 37 yard field goal to give British Columbia the lead early in the third quarter.

In the same frame, Sebastien Hansen would tally the only major of the game to ensure the victory for British Columbia.

Offensive Players of the Game were Hansen (British Columbia) and Ethan Stairs (New Brunswick).  Defensive Players of the Game were Cameron Mah (British Columbia) and David-Daniel Pendleton (New Brunswick).

“It’s not the way we wanted to come out and play but you know when you get those early morning games, sometimes it takes the guys to wake up and get it going,” commented British Columbia Head Coach Cory Philpot. “We’re glad to get away from here with a win.”

Despite the disappointment of the loss, New Brunswick has many positives from this game.

“Team New Brunswick played as hard as they could,” assessed Head Coach Chris Hopkins.  “We promised we would play 48 hard minutes and we did.”

“They made a couple of plays and I made a couple of mistakes that probably cost us but I love the guys in the room, love the guys that help coach us and love our support staff.  It’s something special to come to this tournament as Team New Brunswick as the smallest group and to play a team like British Columbia; to be basically two or three plays away from a win and to play them as hard as we did is something I am extremely proud of.  Our guys should make sure they hold their heads high because this is just the beginning of what New Brunswick football can do.”

British Columbia plays Manitoba on Sunday July 22, 2018 at 9:30am MST. In an all Maritime battle, New Brunswick battles Nova Scotia at 10:00am 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.

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