The Cochrane High School Cobras are looking to three-peat this season as tier three provincial champions and they’ve gotten things off to a solid start.
The Cobras took to their home field on Sept. 10 against the Foothills Composite High School Falcons – last year’s tier two provincial champs – and put in a clinical performance smashing the Okotoks side 27-9.
“You never know what to expect,” said Cobras co-head coach and offensive co-ordinator Rob McNab. “They’re coming in ranked first in their tier and we’re first in ours so there were no expectations.
“We just wanted to compete and our guys played well.”
Play well they did. Quarterback Tae Gordon continued his stellar form from last season, whipping out passes to his treasure trove of receivers (Daniel de Bruin, Dawson Price, and Zach Rabe).
On top of that, colossal running back Kane Boklaschuk showed he’s going to be a handful for opponents this season, making some big runs.
There have been several questions asked of the Cobras in the off-season, in particular how are they going to rebuild after last season when they lost more than a dozen starters with such big-game players like Justin Sambu, Michael Scott, Erik Nusl and Cole Avery to name a few moving on to new challenges.
“I get that question every year,” McNab said. “We don’t rebuild. Next year is next year and that’s why our young kids and coaches are always good. Sure, we lost some great players this year, but we have great ones on the field right now and they played behind those guys we lost so they know what is expected.
“Every year we keep truckin’ along. We don’t like the word rebuild.”
Perhaps the weight of expectation rests heavier on the shoulders of Gordon than anyone else. Much of the Cobras offensive threat this year is going to come through him.
“He’s got a special talent,” McNab said of his star. “One thing that puts a smile on my face is the fact he’s my quarterback. I think I’ve got the best quarterback in the province running my offence, so we’re going to have a lot of fun this year.”
The collection of sure-handed receivers the Cobras are sporting this term will bring to the table a multitude of options on the outside.
“They’re looking fantastic,” McNab said. “Dawson (Price) started last year and Zach Rabe is a terrific talent.
“We commit to throwing the ball and in practice our receivers catch 50, 60, 70 balls each, every session. We don’t spend a lot of time on the running game, passing is our deal.”
That’s not to say they can’t unleash the running game when they want to.
In the running back department, Gordon is going to have a variety of support with Boklaschuk being an old school bruiser, brushing people away and having several players hanging off him while he stretches for an extra yard.
Other options looking to make an impact this term are Grade 10 students Dylan Neis and Jack Staddon, who are more on the athletic side and can run like gazelles.
While the Cobras have a massive amount firepower on offence at their disposal, it can’t be understated how much depth they have on the d-line this year. Something that was apparent against Foothills, who the Cobras shut down until the dying minutes of the game.
Veterans Jedediah Heal, Matt Klooten, William Moulton, Craig de la Mare, and Garrett Blain will be anchoring the defensive line this season, while Dylan Gingrich-Hadley, Wyatt Deagle, Dylan Jackson and Jackson McLean are this season’s linebackers.
The backfield consists of Logan Arns, Luke Kruger, Dylan Rieberer and Dylan Scott.
“We’re looking good,” McNab said of his defence. “They look a little smaller than in the past, but they’re all pretty athletic and worked hard in the weight room in the off-season.”
Is a lack of size compared to previous years going to pose a problem this term?
“We’re not as big as we were last year, but the size thing is changing, even in the NFL and CFL,” McNab said. “It’s a more athletic game and not the big brute, smash-mouth football it used to be so, I’m not worried about size.”
As per usual, when asked who posed the biggest challenge to the Cobras shot at glory this campaign, McNab was adamant he and his team are only concentrating on themselves.
“All the teams have improved this year, but we just prepare weekly,” he said. “We don’t worry too much about the bigger picture. We have our goal of a provincial championship in mind, but we just try and get better every day, week to week and see what happens.”
The Cobras now head to Oakland, California this weekend to play an exhibition against Castlemont High School as part of a team bonding experience. They return home
Monday and play their first regular-season game on Sept. 23 away to Chestermere High School.
Kick-off is 6 p.m.
