Calgary High School Football: Week Two Recap

Compared to the last-minute fireworks that ended week one, week two saw more predictable outcomes among the ranked high school football teams in Calgary...all three ranked schools: St. Francis, Ernest Manning and Notre Dame laid double-digit beatdowns on their respective unranked opponents.

It started Thursday, when Notre Dame took on Lord Beaverbrook, in the first game between the two schools in the senior league in over 15 years (give or take a couple, I'm not too sure myself). ND got things going early by returning a Beaverbrook punt for a touchdown, then after forcing a punt, the ND offense moved the ball with great precision and patience, leading to a second touchdown and giving them a 14-0 lead, which later grew to 21-0 on the first play of the second quarter. Beaverbrook's only score was a touchdown at the end of a long drive late in the fourth quarter to prevent a shutout...the final score was 27-7 for Notre Dame.

Later on, both St. Francis and Ernest Manning played their games at the smaller fields at Shouldice Park, and the large crowds on hand witnessed their respective teams make short work of their opposition. Ernest Manning was able to shake off the heartbreak they endured following back-to-back one-point losses to start the season...starting the game off strong and never looking back in a dominating 31-6 beatdown of Bowness. Meanwhile, Centennial gave St. Francis a scare in the early going, blocking a punt and setting up first down at the Browns' one yard line, but the Browns defence stood tall and turned back the Coyotes to keep the game scoreless...the Coyotes also collected two turnovers in Browns territory, but the Browns took those turnovers right back as the first quarter ended. The Browns dominated the rest of the game, with their defence keeping the Coyotes at bay the entire time, and their offence using a great balance of running and passing plays. In the end, the number four-ranked St. Francis Browns came away with a resounding 35-0 victory over the Centennial Coyotes, improving their record to 3-0 on the season, while Ernest Manning moves to 1-2, and Notre Dame improves to 2-0-1, and jumps to number six in the 5A rankings. Bowness drops to 1-1, Beaverbrook drops to 1-1, and Centennial falls to 1-2 thanks to these results.

Elsewhere, Joane Cardinal Schubert improves to 2-0 on the season in league play (2-1 overall) after a win against St. Mary's, overshadowed by another scary injury...this time to a St. Mary's player, who left the game with a broken ankle. Meanwhile, Dr. E.P. Scarlett won their second straight game, beating Bishop McNally 11-0, and the only other game from Thursday saw All Saints bounce back from their loss against Jasper Place with a 16-1 victory against Henry Wise Wood, who falls to 0-2 as a result.

In the days before Friday's slate, North Trail, who was to open up against Nelson Mandela, had their game forfeited to them, so they instead played in a non-league game against Bert Church, and the Chargers came away with a 36-6 win, leaving the Nighthawks with one loss under their belt to start their year. Meanwhile, Sir Winston Churchill took down Forest Lawn 28-14 in what was the first game for each team this season, Bishop Carroll rebounded from their heartbreak against Lord Beaverbrook by trouncing Our Lady of the Rockies 21-0, improving to 1-1 while dropping the Rockies to 1-1. Finally, Western Canada bounced back with a 21-0 win over Robert Thirsk, dropping the Comets to 0-2 while the RedHawks improve to 1-1, and Central Memorial moved to 2-0 after a 33-14 win against Crescent Heights, which dropped the defending Division 2 Champions to 0-2. The only other game this week saw Father Lacombe take on Lester B. Pearson...the result of which is not currently known at this time.

That's a wrap on Week two of the high school football season in Calgary...stay tuned for Week three!