The Red Deer Steelers are provincial champions.
The Steelers captured the Alberta Tier III peewee football championship with an entertaining 16-8 victory over the Calgary Bulldogs Saturday afternoon at Great Chief Park.
Quarterback Ben Pasiuk and an outstanding defensive stand proved to be the difference in the game.
Pasiuk broke an 8-8 tie in the third quarter when he darted outside and went 53-yards for a touchdown on a third-and-one gamble. Owen Smith kicked his second two-point convert. Kicked converts at the peewee level are worth two points.
The Steelers defence then came up with a brilliant goal-line stand late in the third quarter, stopping the Bulldogs on three straight plays from the one yard line.
After a scoreless first quarter the Steelers jumped into an 8-0 lead on a one-yard run by Grayden Perrott and a Smith convert.
But the Bulldogs came back to tie it before the half on an 84-yard punt return.
l In other provincial peewee championship action the Camrose Buffalos downed the Innisfail Cyclones 34-12 in Tier IV play at Great Chief Park while the Edmonton Chargers beat the Calgary Mavericks 57-40 in the Tier I final and the Calgary Falcons stopped the Mill Woods Maulers 22-0 in the Tier II game.
l Meanwhile all three Central Alberta teams were eliminated in the bantam semifinals.
The Central Football League champion Stettler Cougars were defeated 20-12 by the St. Albert Fury in Tier II play while in Tier III action the Olds Bulldogs lost 40-0 to the Edmonton Black Raiders.
In the Tier IV division, the Wetaskiwin Warriors lost 28-9 to the Fort McMurray Ravens.