Peewees advance to league Championship

Times Jr. Reporter

 

The peewee Spartans football team beat the Red Deer Steelers 26-20 to advance to the championship game next Saturday against the Innisfail Cyclones. 

As expected, the game against Red Deer was a very competitive match-up as the two teams were ranked second and third (Spartans ranked second, Steelers ranked third) in the league.  The Spartans and Steelers had a similar record as well, with the only loss for both teams being against Innisfail. 

The Spartans had to come from behind at one point being down 14-0, but the Strathmore defense stepped up and played like the champions they are, keeping the very fast Steeler offence from scoring any points in the second half. Clutch offensive play led the Spartans in the comeback, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. 

The peewees will spend this week working to prepare for their next opponent, the Innisfail Cyclones, competing for the Tier 3 league championship. 

“They are a more seasoned team, they are not scared or intimidated anymore,” said head coach Doug Klauck.  This will be another close game, as the Spartans have improved so much over the course of the season, since facing the Cyclones in their first game, where the final score was 64-8 for Innisfail. 

“We will have some bigger bodies come out to practice to get the kids used to hitting people bigger than them,” said Klauck.

Last year the peewee Spartans played in the Tier 4 provincial championship game.  This past Saturday, they defeated the two-time Tier 3 provincial champions.  In only the third year, it is amazing to see just how far this program has come.