The Bow Valley Wolverines will face Olds in a high stakes playoff game Saturday (Nov. 7), with the winner earning a trip to the Tier IV provincial football finals.
The Wolverines, ranked ninth in the province, are underdogs heading into Saturday’s match against the Olds team, ranked seventh in Alberta, in the Big Rock Division semifinals.
“We have to be aggressive with defensive play calling and execute on offence,” said coach Wade Buckley. “We have the right players, we just need everybody to do their job.”
The two teams haven’t faced each other this year, but Buckley is quite familiar with the opponent.
“Their coach is smart and he will expose our weaknesses,” Buckley said. “Making adjustments in game will be key for us.”
The club is without Jackson Howatt, who has been a game breaker all season for the Wolverines, but Luke Murphy is in fine form heading into the match.
Against High River on Oct. 30, Murphy and George Reed had two touchdowns apiece as the Wolverines cruised to a 30-23 win. Buckley used the game to play many of his rookies, while Murphy scored two 70-yard touchdowns early on to set the tone.
“We played well and got a lot of time in for our rookies. We took our foot off the gas pedal a little bit. I probably did that too soon, as it ended up close,” Buckley said.
He was impressed with the play of his rookies, who tackled well and made plays.
“It’s always challenging to replicate game speed. They remembered their tackles decently and it was good to get them some game action. You could tell mentally and physically they are rookies. We tried to adjust our defence, but they kept getting through on the same play. They killed us with their running back,” Buckley said.
Leading into Saturday’s game, the Wolverines’ coach has several assignments for his team, and he’s playing his predictions close to his chest.
“We’ll work on lots of hitting and situational stuff, and hopefully on Saturday we’ll do what we have to do,” Buckley said.
