Harry Ainlay Titans vying for 2024 provincial championship this weekend
Edmonton's Harry Ainlay Titans are, for the sixth time in seven years, headed to the provincial high school 5A football championship on Saturday.
They are competing for the title against the Raymond Comets, who lost the 2023 championship to Calgary's Ernest Manning Griffins.
That year, the Griffins also bested the Titans for a championship spot.
"It was a bit of a shock," Titans Grade 12 wide receiver Noah Baker said of failing to make the 2023 final in a recent interview.
"We've all been talking about what happened last year. We've all held a vengeance that we don't want to leave that mark for our Grade 12 year."
Harry Ainlay made the championship without losing a single game.
"As long as we go there and we do what we've been doing all year and do what we need to do, it'll be alright," Grade 12 defensive player Mike Zalaski said.
Head coach Tyler Greenslade added, "We've had a long history competing against Raymond over the years and so I think that they are two programs that know each other pretty well.
"Redemption? Sure, I guess that's one way you could put it. But I think more so just excited for the opportunity to compete."
Alongside nerves, the players are juggling the emotions of knowing it is their "last hurrah together," as Zalaski put it.
"It's a little rough to think about," Baker added. "But honestly, it feels good playing here (for) three years and kind of leaving a legacy."
The game will start at 6 p.m. at Hansen Lincoln Field in Grande Prairie.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Evan Kenny
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
5 rescued after avalanche triggered north of Whistler, B.C. RCMP say
Emergency crews and heli-skiing staff helped rescue five people who were caught up in a backcountry avalanche north of Whistler, B.C., on Monday morning.
Quebec fugitive killed in Mexican resort town, RCMP say
RCMP are confirming that a fugitive, Mathieu Belanger, wanted by Quebec provincial police has died in Mexico, in what local media are calling a murder.
Bill Clinton hospitalized with a fever but in good spirits, spokesperson says
Former President Bill Clinton was admitted Monday to Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington after developing a fever.
Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal
First it was Canada, then the Panama Canal. Now, Donald Trump again wants Greenland. The president-elect is renewing unsuccessful calls he made during his first term for the U.S. to buy Greenland from Denmark, adding to the list of allied countries with which he's picking fights even before taking office.
UN investigative team says Syria's new authorities 'very receptive' to probe of Assad war crimes
The U.N. organization assisting in investigating the most serious crimes in Syria said Monday the country’s new authorities were “very receptive” to its request for cooperation during a just-concluded visit to Damascus, and it is preparing to deploy.
Pioneering Métis human rights advocate Muriel Stanley Venne dies at 87
Muriel Stanley Venne, a trail-blazing Métis woman known for her Indigenous rights advocacy, has died at 87.
King Charles ends royal warrants for Ben & Jerry's owner Unilever and Cadbury chocolatiers
King Charles III has ended royal warrants for Cadbury and Unilever, which owns brands including Marmite and Ben & Jerry’s, in a blow to the household names.
Man faces murder charges in death of woman who was lit on fire in New York City subway
A man is facing murder charges in New York City for allegedly setting a woman on fire inside a subway train and then watching her die after she was engulfed in flames, police said Monday.
Canada regulator sues Rogers for alleged misleading claims about data offering
Canada's antitrust regulator said on Monday it was suing Rogers Communications Inc, for allegedly misleading consumers about offering unlimited data under some phone plans.