As the sun disappeared over the horizon at Legacy Field Tuesday night, one half of the football field was awash in red – the other awash in blue.
But this time, the Cochrane Cobras and Bow Valley Bobcats were not squaring off against each other or battling it out for a win. This time, they practiced side by side, each similarly focused on an end goal, both preparing to proudly represent Cochrane at this weekend’s Alberta Bowl provincial final games.
“It’s a great testament to the town that we’re producing enough quality football players that we can have two teams in provincials,” said Bow Valley coach Cam Cote.
Saturday’s matchups at Hellard Field in Calgary’s Shouldice Park pit Bow Valley against the Stettler Wildcats in Tier IV (449 students are less), and Cochrane High in Tier III (450 to 749 students) against Lloydminster’s Holy Rosary Raiders in a re-match of last year’s championship game.
While the Cobras won the provincial banner last year and will defend their title on Saturday – Bow Valley hasn’t seen this side of the pigskin since 2002.
Tournament co-chair Ralene Goldade said it’s “rare” to have two teams from one community at the Alberta Bowl in the same year.
“I think that’s amazing. It really means that they’re building their football programs in Cochrane,” she said. “Kudos to them.”
In order to earn their spots in the showdowns, both teams needed to win their respective regional finals last weekend.
Cochrane took down the Cardston Cougars in a fight for their lives on the University of Lethbridge Field. The final score tipped over to the Cobras side at 49-42, but head coach Rob McNab said it was closer than the Cochrane team was hoping for.
“It was a tough game. It was a very athletic game. They were changing up the whole game,” said McNab, adding the Cobras were up 35-14 at one point and lost the lead when Cardston tied it up in the third.
“They came back and tied it up 35-35,” McNab recalled. “Momentum is a funny thing and it changes with the wind. The message is, ‘Keep playing hard. Forget the score.’”
Cochrane pulled through and pulled away in the fourth to finally take the win.
“We just had to keep doing what we were doing offensively,” McNab said. “It was wild. Always, respectfully, never underestimate your opponent.”
Quarterback Tae Gordon – who has led the Cobras to two provincial banners so far – ran the ball an outstanding 17 times for 252 yards in the Cardston game.
He said he thinks the difficult win will actually prepare the younger players on the team even more when they face the finals.
“It’s pretty humbling. There’s tons of guys that haven’t been in that close a game yet,” said Gordon. “I think it’s really going to help out mindset going into this game.”
The Bobcats had a smoother ride through their last regional game, wiping out Taber’s W.R. Myers Rebels 41-14 to clinch the south.
“We were lights out,” said Cote. “We expected it to be close, but we had it well under control before the end of the first half.”
Bow Valley was up by three touchdowns going into the last two periods, and by using the skills they had been working and improving upon all year, they held the wide lead to bring it home.
“It was a very good football team we played and we just controlled the ball at all times,” Cote said. “I’m very proud of the boys and how they’ve done. They deserve all the credit.”
While the Bobcats dominated in their last final, Cote said getting to that game wasn’t as easy.
“Bow Valley has had limited success for the last few years … We’ve taken a very hard road,” said the coach, adding his players have learned to play pressure football, and most importantly, are now inspired by their accomplishments.
“They now believe what the coaches are telling them – that they can be champs.”
Bobcat quarterback Austin Javorsky said as the underdogs, he knows he and his players are shouldering a lot of responsibility on Saturday to perform – but he’s not allowing it to affect his or his teammates’ preparation.
“I just try to look past that. I just ignore the pressure,” he said. “We’re just looking ahead to the next game. I’m proud of our team and the work to get this far – but we still want to win.”
Kick-off for the Bobcats is at 11 a.m. The Cobras take the field at 2:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for $10 at the gate.
Goldade said she expects the stands to be stuffed with friends, family members and fans from Cochrane.
“It does get pretty exciting,” she said. “It should be a great time.”
