Didn’t take long for Cochrane Lions to get their game turned around.
Following a 56-6 loss to Foothills Eagles (Okotoks) in their Sept. 1 Calgary Bantam Football Association (CBFA) season-opener, Lions rallied with an emphatic 40-0 Sept. 5 win over Airdrie Raiders at Calgary’s Shouldice Park, Hellard Field.
“Eagles game was a good learning game for our guys,” Lions head coach Paul Vaillancourt said of his team’s Week 1 loss. “We didn’t play any jamboree games. For the first two weeks of practice, the coaches were the most intense guys on the field.”
Licking their wounds, Lions regrouped for their Sept. 5 tilt vs. Airdrie.
“We had our best practice of the season on Thursday,” Vaillancourt said. “So I’m really proud of the fellows for that.”
Cochrane running back Jack Staddon did the damage for Lions on offence, galloping for two rushing touchdowns; his first a 47-yard rumble from the middle of the field and down the east sideline for a score. His second major came on a similar play, going 40 yards for the score. Staddon kicked, and ran for, all of Cochrane’s converts.
“He’s playing like a CBFA all-star,” Vaillancourt enthused. “He can punt. He can catch. He can throw.”
The cold, rainy conditions didn’t slow down the passing game, either. Lions quarterback Xavier Vaillancourt threw for two touchdowns – the second one a 27-yard strike to Derek Reid in the endzone.
“Offensively, we have two formations, a pro formation and a spread formation,” coach Vaillancourt said. “So we brought in more misdirection and more motion, which is always tough to defend. It really worked out today.”
Dawson Gladue also scored a rushing touchdown for Cochrane on a nine-yard scramble.
But it all comes back around to learning from that season-opening loss to Foothills.
“Even against the Eagles, we didn’t bow our heads. We battled through some injuries,” coach Vaillancourt explained. “Our No. 1 objective on Thursday was to rebound and build. We made some adjustments. I got up at 4 a.m. the next morning and changed the playbook and switched some players around. We put big Kyle Martin at safety. And we put big Jack Staddon at running back. He had a monster game. It was a great game. Good execution.
“The line played great in two games. Now we have two weeks break. It’s great to go into the break with a win and have time to heal some injuries.”
With the bye, Lions don’t go again until Sept. 19 when they tackle Calgary Hilltoppers, 3 p.m., Shouldice Park, Hellard Field.
