The high-flying Springbank Community High School Phoenix were grounded by Lightning Nov. 10 in Calgary.
The Phoenix, who opened August training camp with a dozen bodies and lost just once this season – to undefeated cross-town rival Cochrane High – finally succumbed 14-7 to the suffocating defence of Red Deer’s Huntington Hills Lightning in provincial Tier 2 high school football quarter-final action.
The loss ended a wild flight for the Phoenix through Rocky View Sports Association football play, including two last-minute playoff victories leading up to the provincial quarter-final.
“We weren’t consistent at moving the ball,” said Phoenix head coach Tony Lucas following the loss in the bitter cold at Shouldice Park. “They (Lightning) had the field position and they had the time of possession as well.”
Quarterback Levi Jackson scored Springbank’s lone touchdown of the game, on a one-yard run, in which the Phoenix were playing on a long field for most of the second half.
“Two very athletic teams,” Lightning head coach Kyle Sedgwick observed of the Phoenix. “Their defence is a very fast defence. They’ve got really good linebackers. They played our run well.”
The Phoenix Air Show is losing QB Jackson to graduation, as well as four starting receivers.
“I’m very proud of the players,” Lucas said. “They’re a very low-maintenance, hard-working group with a lot of integrity.
“The team’s going to look a lot different next year. We have some pretty strong Grade 11 players, especially on the defensive side.”