Written by Keith Leask - Sunday, Aug 07 2022, 8:27 AM
For the first time in their history, the Airdrie Irish hosted a playoff game in the city yesterday (August 6).
They were likely hoping for a bit more drama in the game.
The Irish took on the defending Alberta Football League (AFL) champion Central Alberta Buccaneers from Red Deer in one of two quarter-finals played yesterday. It was no contest as the Irish stomped the Bucs 53 - 0.
Every facet of Airdrie's offensive and defensive game plan came together in the one-sided win. During the regular season, the Irish finished in a tie for second place in the league with the Edmonton Elite, both with 4-1-1 records. Edmonton was awarded second place and a first-round playoff bye because of point differential. The Buccaneers only managed one win in the regular season and finished 1-5.
In the other quarter-final game, the Fort McMurray Monarchs jumped out to a 14 - 0 lead in the second quarter only to see the Calgary Wolfpack roar back, scoring 50 points to move on to the semis by virtue of a 50 - 28 win.
That means the Wolfpack have the unenviable task of going to Cold Lake to face the first place, undefeated Fighter Jets next weekend while the Irish travel to Fort Saskatchewan to play the Elite.
In their regular season meeting earlier, the teams battled to a 20 - 20 draw. The game was a back-and-forth affair with Airdrie moving out to a 10 - 0 lead and the Elite coming back to go ahead 20 - 10 by half-time. The Irish then rallied in the fourth quarter and tied the game on a last-second field goal.
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