On the heels of this year’s thrilling provincial three-peat, a couple of Cochrane Cobras will join at least two of their teammates to continue their amateur football careers at the University of Calgary.
Last week, Zach Rabe and Dylan Gingrach-Hadley both signed letters of intent to play for the U of C Dinos football club. Earlier this year, the Dinos snapped up current Cochrane High School running back Kane Boklashchuk and 2016 graduate Justin Sambu.
Texas-born Rabe, 17, was a receiver for the Cobras during all three of its championship years and played with the Cochrane Lions at the bantam level as well.
The six-foot, 170-pound teenager’s athletic talent extends past the gridiron onto the baseball diamond, where Rabe is an elite-level shortstop. But he passed on opportunities to play “America’s pastime” in Arizona and Indiana – as well as other football offers from University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and University of Guelph University – so he could stay closer to home.
“I can play with my friends, and it’s a winning program that feels like a family,” said Rabe of the Dinos.
University of Calgary recruiting co-ordinator Matt Berry said in a statement the Dinos are happy to have snagged such a “high end all around athlete.”
“He has excellent hands, and is a good playmaker with the ball,” said Berry.
Joining Rabe on the Dinos is defensive lineman Gingrach-Hadley – a bear of a baller at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds. Berry said the 17-year-old Cobra is “a good hitter” and an “explosive player off the line.”
Cobras head coach Rob McNab said he couldn’t be prouder that the Dinos – his alma mater – are so supportive of the Cochrane football club.
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