The Notre Dame Cougars will defend their undefeated streak in the Central Alberta High School football zone final this weekend.
The Cougars, who are 7-0 on the year, downed the Lindsay Thurber Raiders 63-21 in the league semi-final last Friday. They will play the Hunting Hills Lightning in the zone final. Hunting Hills knocked off the H.J. Cody Lakers 17-10 on Oct. 25 to earn their spot in the final.
The final is set for Saturday, Nov. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Great Chief Park's Setters Place.
The two teams last met on Oct. 18, with the Cougars beating the Lightning 37-8 to round out league play. Saturday's championship game will be a rematch of the 2023 final, when the Lightning knocked off the Cougars 20-9.
Notre Dame is ranked eighth in the province among 5A schools (school population over 1400), while the Lightning, who are 6-1 on the year, are ranked fourth among 4A schools (school population of 800-1399).
The Raiders will play the Lakers for bronze on Saturday, with kickoff set for 4 p.m.
Lacombe will play Camrose on Thursday, Oct. 31, for the consolation final.