Photo: Shane Clausing

By Shane Clausing

high school football

St. Joe’s, Sexsmith set sights on provincial football championship

Nov 26, 2021 | 10:27 AM

Two Grande Prairie area high school football teams will be chasing a provincial championship banner this weekend in Edmonton.

The St. Joseph Celtics and the Sexsmith Sabres both advanced to the championship games with playoff victories in the Tier II and Tier IV northern championship, respectively, last weekend.

St. Joe’s defeated the Leduc Tigers 65-33, while the Sexsmith Sabres blanked the Ardrossan Bisons 39-0.

Both championship games will take place at Commonwealth Stadium.

St. Joe’s is ranked as the number one team in Tier II and is undefeated on the season. They will play the Holy Trinity Academy Knights from Okotoks at 7:00 p.m. Friday.

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Sexsmith is also ranked as the top team in Tier IV and will take on the W.R. Myers Rebels from Taber at 11:00 a.m. Saturday morning.

Celtics Head Coach Trevor Prichard says his team has been working towards this moment all season.

“I think we’re ready. The expectation now is just to perform, be disciplined, do our best and have fun when they’re out there and take in the moment,” he said.

“Hopefully at the end of the day, we can say we’re provincial champions and we can represent Grande Prairie and our school and be very proud of that.”

Over the course of his teaching career, Prichard has experience coaching and teaching at both St. Joe’s and Sexsmith Secondary.

He tells EverythingGP having two teams from the Peace Region playing in the provincial final is a massive deal for football in this area.

“I think it’s a great experience for all those kids. I think it’s a great moment for the Mighty Peace Football League (MPFL), especially coming out of a COVID break. To be the only league to have two representatives in the provincial finals is a tip of the hat to the coaches and the coaching that goes on this region,” he explained.

“It’s nice to see Sexsmith there. I think James Watson (Sexsmith Head Coach) has done a fantastic job with his crew and coaches to get those kids prepared and ready to go. I certainly think they have a great opportunity to become provincial champions on Saturday morning.”

With St. Joe’s playing in their championship game Friday night and Sexsmith playing Saturday morning, Prichard mentioned his team will stay in Edmonton overnight so they can watch and support Sexsmith on Saturday morning, before heading back to the Swan City.

Heading into Friday night’s game, Prichard feels his team is ready but adds the Holy Trinity team they will see in this game will be much different compared to the one they saw in September.

“They are a much improved team. We are not counting any chickens before they hatch. We are going to play our brand of football and hope they come out on top.”

St. Joes last won the provincial championship in 2014, while Sexsmith last won in 1996 when they were in Tier III.

All of the provincial final football games will be live-streamed on YouTube.