After earning goose eggs in their last two Big Sky Conference games, the Bow Valley Wolverines will try to get their offence rolling as they host the Crescent Heights High Vikings in their only home game of the season on Friday (Oct. 3) at Millennium Field at 4 p.m. against a Medicine Hat squad.
Head coach Gord Elser will run back-to-basics practices after the team’s 29-0 loss to Okotoks and a 40-0 loss to Claresholm on Friday (Sept. 26). The past two performances have shown the team has lots of room to improve.
“Every loss is tough. There’s no such thing as a good loss. It was another shellacking, basically … Big points on their side, no points on our side,” the retired CFLer said.
The lack of offence can be traced to a porous offensive line, which has been decimated by injuries.
“The personnel has been changing. We’ve had some injuries, a couple of guys quit … there are big, strong Grade 12 guys we’re missing. Our offensive line is down to a minimum. I’m looking at changing the defence for (Friday’s) game, probably to a 3-4, because we don’t have enough linemen to stick with our 4-3,” Elser said.
He believes the team has the talent to perform, but they still haven’t clicked as a unit. In practice, the team has progressed, but that hasn’t yet manifested itself in game situations.
“We’ve got a lot of individual talent, but we’re not firing on all 12 cylinders out there. Even with seven guys playing their hearts out, a few other guys miscount … it’s hard to win games that way,” Elser said.
Traditionally, larger Div. 2 schools manhandle the Wolverines, and that was the case against Okotoks. However, facing a similar sized school in Claresholm, the team still struggled.
“Claresholm was Div. 4 and they served it up to us. That’s why I thought it should have been way closer than we were,” Elser said.
He’s still optimistic the team can turn things around and there will be more adjustments this week in practice. The start of the season has humbled the club’s swagger, and now they need to work on bringing it back.
“Blocking, tackling, throwing, catching. It’s not rocket science. We’re working on doing the same things, but better and unified,” Elser said. “I think we still have a winning chance in the playoffs, because I’m confident because of our athletic ability.”
Their game against Medicine Hat should be a physical test, as Southern Alberta schools are known for their big football plans.
“You’re going to see a lot of hard hitting and hopefully a win for us. The crowds will be entertained by local talent, and that’s what matters,” Elser said.
Kickoff is 4 p.m.
