Inexperienced but fast is the type of squad the Bow Valley Wolverines will march onto the field for the 2013 Big Sky Conference season opener, Saturday (Sept. 7) against Taber.
Led by a new quarterback, veteran centre and two of what coach Chad McClenaghan calls “the fastest guys in the league,” the local squad, if anything, promises to be fun to watch.
“We’re quite fast. I’m impressed with our speed. We have a lot of skill players. We’ve got a lot of guys who are new to the game,” McClenaghan said, surveying the team’s first true practice of the season on Sept. 3. “Right now, we’re trying to figure out who fits where, get the guys used to wearing equipment again, hitting and running.”
With so many new faces, the veterans will be leaned on heavily early on.
“We have guys like middle linebacker Lucas Love. He’s our heart and soul. Our centre Joe Salisbury will be one of the best guys in the league.”
McClenaghan is excited by his offence, led by quarterback Mark Grain and wide receivers Zak Jantz and Drew Buckley.
“(Grain) is probably the best quarterback I’ve ever coached. He’s strong and has a desire to play. We legitimately have the fastest guy in the league with Drew Buckley, and we may have the second fastest guy. Buckley is the fastest guy I’ve ever coached, and Jantz has wheels.”
Grain is the rarest of breeds, an alpine skier from Saskatchewan. He’s been with the team since he was in Grade 9, and this is his first chance at the quarterback lead.
“It’s awesome to be a leader on the team,” Grain said. “The team is looking good this year. We have good players at every position. I think we’re going to go far.”
Grain models himself after Tom Brady and Robert Griffin III (RG3) and said, “I like to think of myself as an option QB. I like to run a lot.”
Salisbury will be in charge of protecting him and controlling the offensive line. This is his fourth year with the club, and he got some extra play in this summer.
“I was at bible camp all summer, but I played a lot of football at bible camp,” Salisbury said. “I think we have a good chance of making it quite far this year.”
The rest of the line is very green, and McClenaghan knows his team will need to learn how to win again.
“Inexperience is our weakness. Last year, we had a winning streak that really helped us. The kids figured out how to win and it really helped us out,” McClenaghan said.
“For a prediction, we’ll play a lot of games and we’ll get better.”
