Sports | DrumhellerMail

Sabres take home third from Forestburg tournament

    The St. Anthony’s Sabres hit their stride, beating the number four-ranked team in the province at the 1A level, and taking home third place at a tournament in Forestburg.
   The Sabres having a strong season with a tightly knit team. Last weekend they headed north to Forestburg for a 12-team tournament.
   The Sabres first went head-to-head with Sedgwick and quickly jumped out to a first quarter lead. They never looked back and every player made it on to the court contributing to the win 73-62. Tanner Borowicz had 24 points and 22 rebounds, Nathan Comstock and Travis Dietrich each had 16 points. Jakub St. Jean was an effective floor general with 13 points and seven assists.
   This put them up against Bashaw for their second game Friday night. The game was in a smaller gymnasium and Bashaw had some size to clog up the Sabres’ inside attack. This opened up floor for St. Jean, who exploded for his season high 30 points. Borowicz had 26 points as they went on to a 72-63 win.
   The Sabres faced the home team in the semifinal and were in for a battle. Forestburg led most of the game. The Sabres pulled them in with a strong fourth quarter and led for a spell, but an unlikely shot late in the game put Forestburg up and they defeated the Sabres 54-50. Borowicz again led the way with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Comstock had 16 points and seven boards.
   This put them in the third place game versus Daysland. A defensive effort closing off the baseline and backdoor cuts nullified the Daysland offense and they were able to take over the game. A balanced offensive effort by the Sabres saw Borowicz score 17, St. Jean had 16 point and Dietrich had 10. The Sabres went on to a 57-48 win.
   Coach Dan Patterson said what has set this team apart was the strong leadership by their key veteran players. This has allowed payers to develop their skills and support each other.
   “Having good communication and everyone on the same page, makes the game and the year go a lot smoother,” said Patterson.
   There is basketball action at St. Anthony’s this Monday as the school hosts the Christ the Redeemer School Division Grade 7-8 girls divisional tournament. This will include teams from all over the school division. The Saints will be on the court at 8:30 a.m. The final is at 4 p.m.

Junior High girls basketball undefeated

    The Morrin Mustangs junior high girls Basketball team has been having a record breaking season with coach Christine DeMille encouraging them to play their hardest.
   The Mustangs started the season off at the Hanna Opener before the Christmas break and won every game.
   On January 18 and 19 the Mustangs attended the Jr. DVSS Girls Basketball Tournament. They met Drumheller in the final and managed to a win after a slow start in the first quarter.
   On January 26, the girls attended the Duchess Junior Girls Invitational. The girls played extremely well all day and played Cardston in the final. The final score was 34 to 24 for the Mustangs.
   Christine has been coaching the majority of these girls for three years. Five of the players started playing in Grade 6 so that Morrin could have a girls junior high team. The team consists of nine players; two from Grade 9; six from Grade 8 and one player from Grade 7.
   Christine has put a lot of effort into the team and this season it really shows because to date they are undefeated.

Midget Raptors head to zone championships

    Another one bites the dust.
   The Drumheller Midget Tier 3 Raptors have advanced to zone championships after utterly decimating the Canmore Eagles in one game by a score of 11-1.
   Normally, provincial rounds are decided in two games.
   “We did really good. We automatically advanced to the next round,” said assistant coach Nick Schinnour. “I don’t think they (the Raptors) wanted to go to Canmore, because the Super Bowl was on, so they took it in one game.”
   The game started off locked in a stalemate, with a lot of end-to-end play. It wasn’t until late in the first period that Spencer Fournier gave the Raptors the lead with a two-on-one rush goal.
   From there, the Raptors dominated the game. Fournier would go on to score six more times before the game was done.
   “I was surprised we beat them by that much. I was expecting to win, but not by ten goals,” said Schinnour. “Sometimes teams just have bad games, but we had a really good one. The boys played great. It was probably the best I’ve seen them play all year.”
   One of the biggest factors to the Raptors success, explained Schinnour, was staying out of the penalty box.
   The Raptors continued the momentum on Saturday when they headed to Airdrie, where they won 6-4.
   The Raptors have a busy weekend ahead. Last night they hit the road to play their first game of zones against a tough Three Hills squad. Game 2 will be held at the Drumheller Memorial Arena on Wednesday, February 13.
   Last year, the Raptors ousted Three Hills from provincials.
   “They’re in a higher Tier than us. We faced them last year in zone playoffs too, so they’ll be out for redemption,” said Schinnour.
   They continue their league games on Friday versus Strathmore and Indus on Sunday. Friday’s game will be at home and starts at 7:15 p.m.

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