The U16 Central Alberta Fire are Southern Alberta Female Football League champions.
They earned that title following a 62-14 victory over the Calgary Wildcats last Sunday, June 2 at Shouldice Athletic Park in Calgary.
The Wildcats, who entered the game undefeated, were shut down by the Fire's defensive play. Central Alberta's defence was led by Ela Pelkey who was named player of the game for grabbing two interceptions and a handful of tackles.
The Wildcats posed all sorts of problems with a talented offensive roster but the Fire stood tall and through preparation were able to hold them to just 14 points.
"I thought we were well prepared and the girls brought a lot of energy. It was great," said head coach Dallas Haldorson. "The first time we played them we didn't execute as well as we'd hoped. We definitely came together this time and defensively, we were more well prepared."
To get to the league final the Fire finished the regular season with a 2-1 record and later defeated the Foothills Eagles 70-12 in the semi-finals.
Now with a league title to their name, the Fire will face the St. Albert Valkyries, who were northern champions, this Saturday at Setters Place in Red Deer at 1 p.m. in the U16 Female Provincials.
The Fire and Valkyries faced each other in a preseason game before the season and since then St. Albert has been crowned Capital District Minor Football Association league champions.
The Fire expects a solid match-up against the Valkyries as they have some great athletes and coaches, some of which have represented the province on Team Alberta.
"We played most of our games in Calgary this year so it'll be nice to play in Red Deer and not have to travel," Haldorson added. "They definitely have some good athletes and I'd say they're for sure one of the best teams we've faced all year. We expect it to be a battle."
The U19 Female provincial championship game will also be held at Setters Place on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. with the Foothills Eagles taking on the West Edmonton Raiders.