Cochrane Cobras had just blanked visiting Chestermere Cowboys 54-0 in Rocky View Sports Association high school football play at Cochrane High. They shut out the visiting team despite the fact Cobras played their junior-varsity (JV) and second-team defence for most of the second half.
Following the contest, Cobras co-head-coach and offensive coordinator Rob McNab had this to say to his players, huddled around their coach on the field: “Our guys (offence) aren’t getting on the field. We got on the field three times in the second half. You have to play better. Our guys aren’t getting in and that doesn’t bode well for later on, right? Take a little bit more pride, JVs.”
Following the post-game pep talk, the coach is reminded the defence didn’t break. It bowed, but didn’t break. The other guys didn’t score.
“That’s just against the JVs. And I’m telling the JVs, you have to be better,” McNab insisted. “That’s not acceptable. We had three offensive series in the second half with the JVs on defence. They have to play better.”
OK, so there’s room for improvement on the second-team defence playing for the defending provincial-champion and No. 1-ranked Tier 3 high school football program in Alberta.
As for the rest of the team, McNab was more forgiving: “We’re healthy and we’re very balanced. We create matchup difficulties because Tae (quarterback Tae Gordon) does a good job distributing the ball to everybody. He’s doing a great job. The O-line is strong and they’re playing well.
“It looks good right now.”
Yes it does. Unless you are the other team.
“It’s never a fun experience playing Cochrane,” admitted Chestermere Cowboys head coach Brian Utley. “It’s tough. They’re very good.”
It was 20-0 Cochrane after the first quarter. Cobras opened the second quarter with a Gordon 20-yard TD strike to Evan Perrault. Zach Rabe reeled in a 10-yard TD pass before Perrault caught a 20-yarder for a score. Erik Nusl’s long scamper down the west sideline was good for six and running back Kane Boklaschuk ran 25 yards for a major.
Cobras host Airdrie’s George McDougall Mustaings Oct. 3, noon kickoff at either Cochrane High field or Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field.
Cobras ventured into hostile football territory Sept. 17, tackling the No. 2-ranked Tier 1 high school football team in Canada; the South Delta Sun Devils.
Playing American-rules football, (4 downs, 11 players on field, smaller field) because all B.C. schools play that way, didn’t faze Cobras as they schooled Sun Devils 40-6 in the exhibition game.
“We get that extra down, which is cool. But we lose a guy, right?” Cobras co-head-coach and offensive coordiantor Rob McNab said of the American-rules game they play in B.C. “But you know what? Our kids just played.”
This despite Cobras arriving late and the bus taking them to the wrong school to start.
“Things were against us all over the place,” McNab said. “But our guys just played.”
They played well enough that an Alberta Tier 3 school (student population 450-749) defeated a B.C. Tier 1 (1,000+ student population) program.
“Tae (quarterback Tae Gordon) was incredible and the receivers were incredible,” McNab said of his players. “And the defence was swarming all over the place.
“Sun Devils out-physical-ed us. We took advantage of things and played to our strengths.”
