It didn’t end the way they’d have liked, but local players Des Catellier, Justin Sambu and Dan Teitz brought home equipment bags full of elite football experience from Football Canada Cup.
The Cochrane Midget Lions helped Alberta finish fourth at the eight-team national football tournament for under-18-year-old (U18) football players.
Bringing its best players chosen at several provincial selection camps, Alberta opened the tournament with a 39-8 win over Manitoba July 13 at St.-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., setting up a July 16 semifinal against Ontario.
Against Manitoba, Alberta’s second quarterback, Alexander Noel of Grande Prairie, suffered a concussion and injured shoulder early in the second half. Bearspaw’s Catellier, who plays high school football for Calgary’s St. Francis Browns, started at quarterback for the whole tournament along with kicking all the converts and field-goal attempts in his second Canada Cup appearance. He started at punter but turned those chores over to Sambu midway through the Ontario game.
With Alberta leading Ontario 17-13 in the July 16 semi, Ontario scored with 43 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to take the lead. Alberta’s furious closing drive left Catellier with a 45-yard field-goal attempt that fell short. Ontario won 20-18.
“We had that game,” Catellier recalled of the semifinal Alberta led 17-3 at half time. “We should’ve had that one for sure.”
Against Ontario, Sambu had three tackles and a sack, most of the damage coming in the first half. In the second half, Ontario adjusted its blocking scheme for the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Cochrane Cobras defensive end, opting to double-team him at the line. Teitz, who plays high school football for Springbank Phoenix, had two tackles in the Ontario game and three tackles and a sack in the bronze-medal game won 22-9 by Saskatchewan on July 19.
“They both played great,” Catellier said of his Cochrane teammates. “That was good.”
While Alberta’s (1-2) fourth-place finish isn’t where Catellier and Co. wanted it to end, it was still worth the trip.
“It’s a great experience. No matter how you finish,” Catellier said. “You definitely want to win something. But it’s a great experience still.”
