The Cochrane Bantam Lions football washed away a disappointing regular season and managed to bring home the Calgary Bantam Football Association (CBFA) Division 3 title after defeating the Calgary Bantam Colts 48-30 in the final game.
Lions head coach Paul Vaillancourt was very pleased with his team’s effort in the championship game.
“It was perfect execution, I must admit. You know coaches are quite happy when things come together and I thought we perfectly executed our game plan,” Vaillancourt said.
“We had the right players in the right positions and we had the right play calls on offence racking up 48 points and made some adjustments on defence … and we made some key stops when we needed to. We didn’t make any mistakes, no mental mistakes and almost no penalties or turnovers, it was a very good effort.”
The team finished with a 1-7 record after the regular season, but reeled off back-to-back wins in the playoffs against the Airdrie Raiders, who the Lions defeated 58-22, before beating the Colts. Vaillancourt says his team’s regular season record could have been better, but the championship win made this season a successful one regardless.
“For us, first of all, success is having a bunch of young men come together and learning to be safe, having fun and learning lessons about hard work, commitment, discipline and team work … that’s success for us,” Vaillancourt said.
“Our record on the field clearly was mixed. We started off with a couple of wins in our jamboree before the season started, but then we had a really tough schedule. Our first three games were against teams who had won cities and provincials last year, so we started off with a really tough schedule. Then we found our groove and got on track … we lost a few games in the last couple minutes, so our record could have been closer to .500,”
“We got better and worked hard and ended up with three wins at the end and that was important.”
The Lions also have six players invited to try out for the CBFA All-Star team that would be playing an all-star game down in Las Vegas, NV. Jackson Streeter, Chase Hunt, Jacob Mate, Callum Currie, Dominic Mills and Ty Metcalfe are on the invite list that sees more than 100 players try out for the 30-man final roster.
Vaillancourt said the opportunity for his players to potentially play in an all-star game could further their development in the sport.
“My son was selected to the Selects team (CBFA All-Stars) last year, so I can speak firsthand on the experience… the level of coaching, the level of play and the way the players are treated are like a pro-type event,” Vaillancourt said.
I think the coaches try to prepare the kids like an American college bowl game, so lots of intense practices, great facilities and it really shows the kids on the team what it takes the reach that next step.”
