CANMORE – No mercy was given to the Canmore Wolverines on the gridiron.
The high school football team’s season ended unceremoniously after being ruthlessly shut out 53-0 by the Willow Creek Cobras in the first round of the Tier V playoffs last Saturday (Nov. 8).
The top-ranked Cobras advance to the south finals against the visiting Drumheller Titans, Saturday (Nov. 16).
The Wolverines were the heavy underdogs heading into Saturday’s game and the mighty serpents swallowed them whole in Claresholm after star running back Albert Reed, the team’s offensive focal point, left the game with an ankle injury.
“The ankle injury for Albert Reed was a killing blow for our offence,” said Spencer Rose, Wolverines head coach. “It was 21-0 at that point and we were just starting to pick up momentum. We looked decent on the defensive and offensive sides and that kind of happened and took the wind out of our sails.”
Rose said it didn’t help that the Wolverines had so much riding on one player’s performance, but Reed’s injury wasn’t the only factor in the loss. Contributing to the one-sided affair were other key injuries, a steep learning curve for the first-year head coach and its young players, and a constant modifying offensive system, which changed the week of the playoff game.
The Wolverines’ final 3-7 record is far from the follow up hoped for after winning the provincial championship in 2018. The local squad also lost its Big Sky League title banner to the Titans after claiming it in 2017 and ‘18.
“Speaking for myself, it was my first time sitting in the big chair, and I wasn’t quite ready for prime time this year,” Rose said. “It’s definitely disappointing to me … [anything] short of a championship or championship game appearance is disappointing and I give credit to those two teams [Titans and Cobras], they’re good teams, they’re there [in the championship game] most years.”
The Wolverines are done for 2019, but Rose said that preparation for the 2020 season has already started for him. Rose, who was the defensive coordinator in previous years, wants to spend more time with the offence and special teams, which were inconsistent throughout the season.
Canmore Collegiate High School holds its awards banquet to celebrate the team on Nov. 27.
