Happy endings don’t always happen.
That’s what the Cochrane High School Cobras senior boys basketball team found out as they fell 84-79 in their final league home game of the season against George McDougall Mustangs on Feb. 10.
The defeat means Cobras are 3-2 (third in the division), going into their last game of the Rocky View Sports Association regular-season against Chestermere Lakers, who are 5-0 (first in the division).
“We got off to a great start,” said Cobras head coach Jim Forrest. “Were up 11-2, then five minutes into the game we lost Jake Nielson, who is our top scorer. That hurt us since we don’t have a lot of depth, and McDougall climbed back into the game, and made more plays than we did down at the end.”
Before the game, Cobras honoured six Grade 12 players (Dylan Janzen, Justin Sambu, Spencer Marchand, Jake Nielson, Evan Perrault, and Ethan Forrest.) who were hitting the home court for the last time in league action.
“For the last six or seven years, we’ve tried to honour our seniors before the last league home game,” Forrest said. “We like to thank the kids for their contribution to the whole program, and give them a framed action shot of themselves as a souvenir for putting the time in.”
This year was extra special for Forrest, as his youngest son Ethan was one of those honoured.
“It’s a bit different, since I went through it before with my older son, but this is the last one,” Forrest said. “It makes you sit back and think about all the time you’ve put in and all the years you’ve coached.”
Cobras next travel away to Chestermere on Feb. 24 (tip-off is 6 p.m.). How does Forrest think his team will fair against the undefeated Lakers?
“We knew they would be really good, and thought we could be up there with them,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries this season and have scrambled to field the same guys each week. It would be nice to beat them in their own gym. We want to compete, because they’re one of the teams that’s going to be in the mix for divisionals, zones, and provincials.
“That’s where we want to be.”
