SHERBROOKE (CFL.ca wire) — Provincial pride was on the line on Tuesday morning when Northern Alberta and Southern Alberta faced off at du Phare High School in Sherbrooke in Day 3 action of the 2007 Canada Football Cup. Both teams entered the contest having already been eliminated from gold medal contention, though a bronze medal finish remained a possibility for both teams.
Southern Alberta jumped out to an early lead against their provincial rivals. In front of several hundred fans, South Alberta took an early 21 point lead on rout to a convincing 51-6 victory.
Jake Harty started things off for Southern Alberta with a 57 yard punt return for a touchdown. Quarterback Jeremy Long and running back Jeff Hassler finished with two touchdowns apiece. Back-up quarterback Josh Williams and running back Strom Bartsoff also got into the action with one touchdown apiece. Kevin Hafichick rounded out the scoring for Southern Alberta with a 22 yard field goal and six extra points.
“I was worried that our team might be a little down after losing an emotional match to Quebec in the tournament opener, but we came out and played a very motivated game,” said Southern Alberta head coach Bill McConkey. “We had lots of players contribute on both sides of the ball and it was a nice team victory. It’s always exciting when we play Northern Alberta; it’s a little bit like the rivalry between the Flames and the Oilers.”
“We got off to a great start and we looked at this game as a matter of pride. I’ve never beaten Northern Alberta and I’m proud of the way our team played,” said running back Jeff Hassler, one of the many offensive stars for Southern Alberta.
Hassler finished with 118 yards receiving and 19 yards rushing. Teammate Stephen Dereniswki was named the defensive player of the game for Southern Alberta.
For the losing team, quarterback Jerit Lambert and defensive back Kristopher Godreau were named the offensive and defensive players of the game respectively. Lambert scored his team’s only touchdown, a 9 yard scramble at the beginning of the second quarter.
Both teams will play their final game this Friday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The opponents have yet to be determined.
Scoring Summary:
1st 01:39 South Alberta – Harty J 57 yd punt return (Long J rush failed)
North Alberta 0 – South Alberta 6
2nd 01:23 North Alberta – Lambert J 9 yd run (More J kick failed)
North Alberta 6 – South Alberta 6
05:30 South Alberta – Long J 10 yd run (Hafichuk K kick)
North Alberta 6 – South Alberta 13
07:14 South Alberta – HAssler J 57 yd pass from Long J (Hafichuk K kick)
North Alberta 6 – South Alberta 20
07:42 South Alberta – Long J 24 yd run (Hafichuk K kick)
North Alberta 6 – South Alberta 27
11:31 South Alberta – Hafichuk K 22 yd field goal
North Alberta 6 – South Alberta 30
3rd 06:47 South Alberta – Bartsoff S 7 yd run (Hafichuk K kick)
North Alberta 6 – South Alberta 37
4th 01:49 South Alberta – Williams J 9 yd run (Hafichuk K kick)
North Alberta 6 – South Alberta 44
06:05 South Alberta – HAssler J 15 yd pass from Williams J (Hafichuk K kick)
North Alberta 6 – South Alberta 51
Players of the Game:
North Alberta
Offensive: Jerit Lambert
Defensive: Kristopher Godreau
South Alberta
Offensive: Jeff Hassler
Defensive: Stephen Dereniswki
