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CFC50 HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS WEEK 4
CFC25 SMALL SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS WEEK 4
What does every team start off with at the beginning of the season? HOPE! This rings true for the Fort McMurray Saints who will have a tough go this Thursday against the No. 7 ranked team on the CFC50 National High School Rankings, the Notre Dame Pride from Calgary, Alberta. This non-conference matchup has us here at CFC curious as we know that Fort Mac has been producing some excellent talent as of late which should start to show in the win column. At 1-1 for the regular season, will the Saints surprise us all and pull off one mammoth upset?
Enter the Notre Dame Pride who, between them and St. Francis, have dominated the Calgary high school football scene for years. So far this season they remain undefeated, 2-0, in the regular season and 1-0 non-conference matchup with Raymond in week 2. The Pride have already had time to flex some muscle as the scores of those games were 34-24 (CFC50 Raymond), 44-0 (Ernest Manning), and, most recently, 37-7 (CFC50 No. 39 Henry Wise Wood).
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Head Coach of the Saints, Kevin Garbuio, isn’t phased by their opponent on Thursday and said they aren’t in a position to be picky.
“We have to play whoever is willing to play us. No teams want to travel to Fort McMurray which we understand, it is far and these trips cost money,” explained Garbuio. “We are extremely grateful that Coach Diluzio is willing to meet us in Edmonton. We also are a new program so we want to see what the best looks like, Notre Dame is a top program in the country and we want to see where we are at.”
With a loss of 14-13 against Bonnyville in week 2, followed by a bye, and then a shutout, 35-0, against Strathmore, the Saints go into this one feeling pretty confident.
CFC100 QB Isaiah Klein
Quarterback for the Pride, CFC100 Isaiah Klein, will have emphasized playing tough, finishing every play, and protecting the ball this whole week during practice. Notre Dame plays a “physical, disciplined game” and with Klein’s personal goals of being the best QB on the field every game and top 5 in Canada, you can be sure that he will be a force to be reckoned with.
Also for Notre Dame is CFC150 offensive lineman, Dante Gibson, who said similarly that they are going to come out focussed, physical, and smart. He mentions that he has been working to take his game to the next level by getting faster, stronger, and staying low. He added, “For people who are unfamiliar with Notre Dame, you play to the whistle, flow to the ball, and we make plays…I just [love] helping my team in every way I can.”
Coach Garbuio knows the Pride makes plays and is making his own plays to combat this.
“Defensively, we need to stop the run and get ourselves in good 2nd down situations. They have talent everywhere but if they get their running game going they can work their play action with their talent QB and receivers,” he said. “On offense we need to take what their defense gives us and get completions, and control the tempo of the game.”
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Leading the charge on offense for the Saints is quarterback Liam Bartlett who echos coach’s sentiment in that he also believes that they need to get off to a good start on offense and defense if they are to get out in front of their opponent.
Bartlett went into this season with the goal of improving how he reads the defense pre and post snap. “At the U of A elite camp they showed us what decisions to make against what defence we’re being shown. Definitely feel as though the U of A camp has definitely helped improved my game in every aspect.” He added, “Getting the ball moving and getting stops is definitely key. We also need to control the turn over battle and be smart with the ball when we get it. Special teams and field positioning will be major to our success.”
CFC100 Dylan Remillard with the interception (Picture by Ethan Lewis)
CFC100 defensive tackle/offensive lineman/longsnapper Dylan Remillard is a show stopper. Dylan was one of the elite athletes to participate in the CFC Prospect Game that was broadcast on TSN earlier in June. Coach Garbuio said that Dylan is a “big strong kid, great get off, plays mean”.
Remillard mentioned, “If we can force them into a second and long situation it would be to our benefit, with that being said we have to dominate the trenches on first down. Our Defensive and Offensive line have to be aggressive and come to play all game. We have to take our opportunities on specials to our advantage, special teams wins games”.
He goes on to say that Fort McMurray football is “fast paced and physical”. “Our skill players are our strong point on our Offence. On defence, our defensive line and linebackers are our strongest point.”
Dylan’s goals for this season are to be as dominant as he can and earn himself a Usports scholarship. He also said that with it being their first season as the Saints, he would like to put Fort McMurray on the map and make it easier for kids to be recruited in the future.
Running back Sterling McNeilly is one of the players to watch in this game also according to Coach Garbuio. “Fast kid, likes to run in between the tackles…Loves contact and can get into space.” He also mentions slotback Sean Kirui who can win the one-on-one battles and can work underneath. He has great hands and catches the ball well.
Lastly, linebacker Drew Bell and defensive back Hayden Keating will be ones to mark on your roster.
“Long half back, physical. Hits hard covers well, uses his length to to fill on the run. probably a U Sports sam/dime,” said Coach Garbuio of Keating and adds this of Bell, “gap sound, plays tackle to tackle, great leader makes big plays and is a competitor”.
Bartlett is also looking forward to executing with his teammates, “I feel as those Fort McMurray has a very balanced style of play on offence with play makers like Sean Kirui at slot and a team Alberta runningback in Sterling McNeilly. We find ways to disperse the ball evenly. In the three games we have played, our defence has forced multiple turnovers including a pick six.”
This is a case of the rookies against the veterans. This is one game you should try to get to in Edmonton. Kickoff is at Clarke Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 26th at 2:00pm MST.
*Head Coach of Notre Dame, David Diluzio, was unable to be reached by press time.
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