Ernest Manning looking for redemption at provincial football championships

What a season it’s been for the Ernest Manning High School senior boys' football team.  The Griffins have been perfect and head coach Garth Melrose says the players have played a big role in that.

“An undefeated regular season and the city championship so far so a lot of things went right,” Melrose said.

“All of the credit has to go to the players.  I think they’re the ones that went right every day and every week all year.”

COMEBACK WIN AT CITIES

There’s no quit and a ton of belief in this football team and a prime example of that was in the city final against the St. Francis Browns.

The Griffins trailed the Browns by a large margin but never gave up.  Caden Struth plays on both the offensive and defensive line and he says they were motivated to come back.

After beating Bev Facey Falcons 36-8 in the quarter-finals and the Harry Ainlay Titans 28-10 in the semi-finals, the Griffins are off to the Tier One provincial final where they’ll face the Raymond Comets.

“It was definitely a challenge,” said the 17-year-old.

“I think we saw the celebrating on the other team being up 17-0 and it really hurt us deep down and we wanted to win that game.  We came out after half-time and we were ready and came back with three unanswered touchdowns and it was great.”

ANOTHER SHOT AT RAYMOND

But the work is far from over for Ernest Manning.  After beating Bev Facey Falcons 36-8 in the quarter-finals and the  Harry Ainlay Titans 28-10 in the semi-finals, the Griffins are off to the Tier One provincial final where they’ll face the Raymond Comets.

The Griffins faced the Comets in last year's semi-final and it didn’t go well.  Ernest Manning’s season was over after a 48-6 loss.

Seventeen-year-old defensive back/receiver Alex Poitevien says they’ve had that on their mind for the whole season.

“It didn’t leave a good taste in our mouths and we’re trying to get them back.  It’s a tough team and we just have to execute.  We kind of came into this season knowing what we’ve got and knowing our potential and knowing that the city (championships) or none of that was the end goal -- it was always to get to the provincial finals and win.”

REDEMPTION

Losing like that was also a tough pill to swallow for Struth.  He says they haven’t forgotten that loss.

“It’s definitely motivating for us,” he said.

“That was the big end to our season last year, we got blown out and it just wasn’t a great way to end our season last year so this year is (hopefully) our redemption.”

BE AT THEIR BEST

Melrose knows his team will have to be at their best if they want to beat the Comets who have won eight provincial titles.  He says they have to respect them but also have the belief they can beat them.

“Great football team and a great football town," Melrose said. "They’re quite legendary with their program.  They play fast and it’s an interesting kind of fun style of football.  We’re excited for the challenge and the preparation this week.”

GOING OUT IN STYLE

For many of these players, this is it for high school football.  Struth and Poitevien graduate after this year.

Poitevien says he wants to go out in style.

“For a lot of people, we want to make this special, we want to go down in history,”  he said.

“A CBE (Calgary Board of Education) team hasn’t won a provincial final in a long time so you know we’re just trying to make history.”

Kick off for the Tier One Provincial final between Ernest Manning and Raymond is Saturday at 6 p.m. at Setters Place at Great Chief Park in Red Deer.