The first-ranked Cochrane Cobras football team has advanced to the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (ASAA) Provincial Tier Three South Regional Finals after defeating the eighth-ranked Brooks Buffalos 30-0 on Nov. 11 in Brooks.
Cobras co-head coach Rob McNab said the game was a good provincial opener for Cochrane, as both the weather and the opponent gave them a good test prior to vying for a fourth-straight provincial title.
“Both teams play in it (the weather) but the field conditions weren’t great … it was pretty iced over, there was still plenty of snow on the field, it was foggy and it was cold. Thankfully, there was no wind but it was definitely cold, Brooks did a great job getting the game set up, no question about that. They had heaters on the sidelines for the kids on the bench, but yeah ideally you never like to play in those conditions,” McNab said.
“We had a rough first half, the score was 6-0 and they probably got the better of us in the first half. But then we started to take over a little bit more in the second half, implementing our game plan and running the ball a bit more than we’re use to but our kids were doing the job … we had a few turnovers, which normally when you turn the ball over you don’t win, so thankfully we were able to overcome those mistakes and live to fight another day.”
The game against Brooks was also the first time since September, when the Cobras took on Vernon Secondary School in an exhibition game, that the senior varsity players had to play a full four quarters.
“I was a little worried about our kids … can you hang in there for four quarters? Keep playing, keep digging and keep scraping and they did a good job,” McNab said.
“They’ll likely have to play a full game again this week so hopefully that doesn’t bite us in the butt.”
The Cobras will now face the second-ranked Cardston Cougars who ran roughshod over the Sylvan Lake Lakers with a 57-7 victory. McNab says the Cougars may be the toughest team they’ll play all season.
“We have a long history going back to way back in the 1990s where they beat us 62-15 in a provincial game, which kind of woke us up as a program going forward. But yeah, we’ve always had tough, tight games,” McNab said.
“We’ve played them in the last two provincial tournaments, both in which the final score was 49-42 (in favour of the Cobras). We’re two evenly matched team, athletic kids, good coaching on both sides … it should be a great game.”
The Regional Final game will be played in Cochrane, so the Cobras will have the advantage in the fact that they won’t have to travel and that they’re playing in their own backyard. McNab said his team would be ready to play regardless of where the game was being held.
“There’s always that fact when you don’t have to travel or get up early in the morning and make that trek anywhere …obviously the last two years there hasn’t been that much of an advantage for either team,” McNab said.
The game will go Nov. 18 at Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field, with kickoff going at 1 PM.
