FCC2018 RECAP: Alberta pulls off major upset by ending Quebec’s reign

On Thursday night at Shouldice Park in Calgary, host Alberta knocked off defending gold medallists Quebec 24-13 in front of the hometown crowd.

After a scoreless first quarter, Alberta opened the scoring when Jonathan Giustini added a 17 yard field goal with 6:58 left before the half.

Quebec responded back when Nicholas Cenacle sprinted down the field for a touchdown score to give the team the lead.

With 1:56 left before the half, Matthew Peterson powered his way into the end zone and tallied a major for Alberta.

However, Tiemoko Sanogo runs into the end zone for a touchdown with eight seconds left before the half.

At halftime, Quebec held a 13-10 advantage over Alberta.

Peterson would tally his second major of the game to give the host the lead back with 5:51 left in the third quarter.

Alberta would seal the victory when Romeo Nash converts a pick six into a touchdown score.

Offensive Players of the Game were Peterson (Alberta) and Cenacle (Quebec).  Defensive Players of the Game were Nash (Alberta) and Yshad-Shane Benjamin (Quebec)

With this victory, Alberta ended Quebec’s string of winning gold the last three tournaments. Quebec has won the past six of seven gold medals at Football Canada Cups.

“We just made some plays,” commented Alberta Head Coach Chris Morris after the win.  “We had some guys step up and made interceptions, we had some guys who made some huge runs and we had some guys who made huge blocks.”

“The game of football comes down to if you make more plays then they do you win.  We have such a great, confident group of kids here that I’m excited to keep going forward.”

While disappointed with the loss, Quebec gave props to Alberta on their win.

“On offence, we had way too many turnovers and defensively, we couldn’t stop the run,” assessed Quebec Head Coach Marco Iadeluca.  “It just wasn’t our night and they played a good game.”

“Hats off to Coach Morris and his staff; they did a great job. They played an outstanding game and they were the better team tonight.”

Host Alberta will battle Saskatchewan for the gold medal on Sunday July 22, 2018 at 3:00pm MST.  As for Quebec, they square off against Ontario for the bronze medal on the same day at 12:00pm MST.

FCC2018 DAY 2: Post-game interview with Marco Iadeluca

FCC2018 DAY 2: Post-game interview with Chris Morris

This post is also available in: French