Football is back.
And the bodies were flying at the Calgary and Area Midget Football Association (CAMFA) season-opening football jamboree March 28 at Calgary’s Shouldice Park.
Count Cochrane Midget Lions head coach Ed Quillian as one of the many football fans enthused about the start of a new spring gridiron season.
“Looking forward to it. I’m excited,” he said.
The Lions played four scrimmages – half field, 10 plays on offence, 10 on defence – against the Calgary Bulldogs, Broncos, Hilltoppers and Mavericks. Quarterbacks were protected from direct contact in the pocket and coaches stood on the field with their teams to go over plays. The jamboree is basically where teams put the playbook to work on the field.
Scott Haigh’s legs were working well for Cochrane at the jamboree, as the Bow Valley High School Bobcats quarterback returned to his primary spot at running back with the Lions.
“He’s an athlete,” Quillian observed. “We’re going to take him as a running back. He can pound the grass and run some people over.”
But coach Quillian didn’t want to give the opposition too much to look at during the exhibition.
“We don’t show much. We’re staying pretty basic,” he said of the plays his team worked on at the jamboree. “I’m assuming everyone else is as well. Everyone’s got something up their sleeves (for regular season), right?”
The Lions roster currently stands at 31 players, two-thirds of whom are rookies for the Midget Lions. Most played with the Bantam Lions and/or with high-school programs at Cochrane High, Bow Valley and Springbank.
“I’m happy with the talent we have on our team,” Quillian said. “I’m happy with what we saw here today. The offence was moving the ball. The defence was stopping the ball. A couple of breakdowns on each side, but it’s the first time on a wide field for us this year.”
And the Lions are deep at quarterback this year, with Bantam Lions standout Des Catellier, and Springbank Phoenix chuckers Sidney Berglund and Liam Manns in the Lions’ Den.
Quillian’s grateful for the stream of players flowing to the Midget Lions from Cochrane-area high schools.
“They all have good programs,” he said of high-school football at Cochrane, Bow Valley and Springbank high schools. They all played well this year. We’re happy to have them.
“We’ll take more of them.”
And he’ll take more wins this season than the winless Lions of a year ago.
“We’re looking to win. That’s our goal is to win.”
For now, he’ll make do with his 31 players heading into the first kickoff of the season.
“We play hard. We expect the kids to do their jobs. That’s our mantra this year: ‘Just do your job.’ Last year was a character-building season for us. The guys who where there last season are back this year; they’ve got something to prove.”
It all starts with the season-opening kickoff, 8:30 p.m. April 5, at Calgary’s Shouldice Park.
