Submitted by Kootenay Football League
The Kootenay Football League concluded its spring flag football season earlier this month at Cranbrook’s Moir Park with teams vying for the title of Kootenay Bowl Champions.
Football continues to expand in the region with eight communities represented at the event to cap off the spring season. The West Division brought football to three new communities this spring with teams forming in Trail-Castlegar (West Kootenay Lions/Colts) and Nelson (Giants, Red and Blue), to join the Creston Vikings who played in last fall’s competitions. The Fernie 49ers were the newest addition in the East Division, joining the Cranbrook Packers, the Invermere Steelers, and the Kimberley Raiders.
The Kootenay Football League, in partnership with NFL FLAG, was launched by the Rocky Mountain Rams Football Association (Cranbrook) last fall with a four-team league. NFL Flag is a fast paced five-on-five format played on smaller fields, with plenty of action for all players. With the league’s expansion this spring, over 125 athletes participated in the spring season that saw teams compete in round-robin style competitions in six locations over the past two months.
After a day of hard-fought competition across six fields, the Fernie 49ers emerged as Kootenay Bowl champions in both the junior and senior divisions.
In senior play, all four West teams played against all four East teams in a round-robin to determine playoff seeding. The Nelson Giants (Blue) and Fernie took the top spots in pool play leading into an eight-team playoff bracket. In the quarter-finals, Kimberley upset the top seeded Blue Giants with a spectacular double-overtime catch to face Cranbrook in the semifinal. Fernie and the Nelson Giants (Red) cruised to quarter-final victories to matchup in their semifinal.
A pair of tightly contested semifinal games saw Cranbrook and Fernie punch their tickets to the final where the 49ers would score on the final play of the game to become Kootenay Bowl champions! Nelson (Red) would take third place, Nelson (Blue) won the consolation final, and the West Kootenay squad earned a win in the seventh-place game.
The junior competition was made up of all four East division teams. A full round-robin concluded with the 49ers on top heading into the four-team playoff bracket. In the semifinals, Fernie and Kimberley battled to the finish with Fernie coming out on top thanks to a couple of late long touchdown runs. Invermere knocked off Cranbrook to set up a Steelers-49ers final.
The teams went back and forth in an exciting final giving the crowd plenty to cheer about. In the end, the 49ers got the best of the Steeler for a second time on Sunday and took the title. Kimberley wrapped up third-place in the junior division with a victory over Cranbrook.
The Kootenay Football League extends a sincere thank you to all of the parents, volunteers, coaches and officials who helped make this season a success. Without their commitment the continued growth of the league and opportunities for youth to participate would not be possible.
