For the second month in a row, a team representing British Columbia has earned a medal at a national football tournament hosted by Football Canada.
Following in the footsteps of the provincial under-18 tackle team that captured bronze at the 2010 Football Canada Cup in July, this past Monday it was Coquitlam Spider Monkeys that did BC proud wrapping up the U15 National Flag Championship with a dominating 34-6 win over Alberta in the bronze medal game.
"This bronze medal is huge for Coquitlam Minor Football," Spider Monkeys co-head coach Eddie Ferg told Football BC following the game. "The boys were very classy and represented the province in a manner that the whole province would be proud of."
The win over Alberta in the bronze medal game was particularly satisfying for Ferg, his co-coach Paul Lancaster, and the entire Spider Monkeys squad after they had dropped their first two games to them during the round robin portion of the tournament.
Even though Alberta had soundly defeated in them in their tournament opening game 32-6 and then squeaked out a 21-19 win on the second day of competition, Ferg felt that the bronze medal game was the true showcase of BC’s ability versus their Albertan rival.
"Our first loss was a tough one to swallow," said Ferg. "With the many rule changes and the [World Flag Championships] happening, we didn’t get the best refs possible. It was very one-sided.
"Our final game was officiated with a senior crew and the true result came through."
BC finished the tournament with an overall record of 4-3 counting all round robin and playoff games. Included in their results was a 33-20 win over the eventual gold medalists from Manitoba.
BC also came just shy of knocking off the powerhouse Ontario squad in their semi-final game. BC held Ontario to just seven points - Ontario had out-scored their opponents 148-6 combined in their five games prior to meeting BC in the semi-final - but lost by a 7-0 final score. Being taken to the brink by BC was likely a contributing factor in Ontario's eventual loss to Manitoba in the gold medal game played later that same day on Monday.
The Spider Monkeys won't have an easy road to go through if they hope to return to this tournament in 2011 as they will have the best flag teams in BC gunning for them in next spring's BC provincial tournament. However, Ferg feels his team stands a strong chance to repeat as provincial champions and is already itching for a chance to challenge for that elusive national gold medal.
"We proved to the nation that Coquitlam Minor Football will be a force in the national tournament," said Ferg. "We are looking forward to representing our beautiful province, the city of Coquitlam and Coquitlam Minor Football again."
In addition to co-head coaches Eddie Ferg and Paul Lancaster, members of the national bronze medal winning U15 Coquitlam Spider Monkeys are Chase Malcolm, Malcolm Lee, Kevin Marshall, Shane Noel, Tristen Sands, and Connor McKee.
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