The Edmonds Cyclones senior football team emerged as the class of the field at last weekend’s Can-Am Bowl in Victoria, Canada.
The Cyclones defeated the Victoria Renegades 24-0 in the championship game Aug. 22 at Royal Athletic Park.
Edmonds also shut out its two other opponents en route to the title. The Cyclone defense allowed only two first downs the entire weekend.
This was the third year Edmonds took its senior level (12- and 13-year-olds) team up to Canada prior to the start of the regular season.
“Things went wonderfully,” said head coach Glade Hall. “We went up there for the kids to have a good time.”
Hall and his staff spent the weekend evaluating the squad and were more than pleased with the players’ efforts.
“We wanted to see how the kids did after three weeks (of practice),” Hall said. “They did well.”
The games were played under Canadian rules, which was a challenge for the coaches.
Play was limited to three downs. The field was longer than what Edmonds is used to and each side used 12 players. All games were 40 minutes long with a non-stop clock. The defensive line had to be one yard off the line of scrimmage.
Regardless of the rule changes, the Cyclones had little trouble in the first round, defeating Victoria 22-0. Edmonds then beat U.S. counterpart Stanwood 14-0.
The Cyclones pounded the Cowichan Bulldogs 30-0 to advance to the title contest.
Hall and his staff were interested in seeing how the Edmonds offense was shaping up. The Cyclones run a double-wing offense that relies heavily on misdirection and the concealment of the ball.
The results were encouraging, Hall said.
He was especially impressed by the play of running back/linebacker Tony Heard, running back C.J. Milburn and cornerback Gunnar Milburn.
But the projected starters weren’t the only players to excel on the field. Several players surprised Hall with their performances.
The 27 players Edmonds took to the tournament were an almost even mix of seventh and eighth graders.
“We wanted to get the younger, inexperienced players a lot of playing time and experience,” Hall said.
The team stayed with Canadian host families, who did everything they could to make the players feel at home.
“They rolled out the red carpet for us,” Hall said. “They treated us like we were the Green Bay Packers … it couldn’t have turned out better.”
This weekend the Cyclones along with the rest of the Wesco Junior Football League are playing in a jamboree at Edmonds Stadium. Games are scheduled from 9 a.m-4 p.m.
The regular season kicks off Sept. 11.
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