It’s not often a team will hang its hat on a 28-6 loss, but last week, the Bow Valley Wolverines did just that against the Rundle College Cobras.
During Big Sky Conference high school football play at Millennium Park, Friday (Sept. 20), the Wolverines had a difficult time getting the offence in gear, but relied on a strong run defence and a late game drive which saw quarterback Mark Grain and receiver Alex (possibly soon to be called “Downtown”) Brown hook up for big yardage.
Grain also connected with a wide open Zack Waldbauer for the Wolverines’ lone touchdown from Rundle’s 35 with two seconds on the clock to finish the late drive which began on their own 25. The drive saw Grain sacked twice and the Wolverines gamble on third down but the Grain/Brown connection would have made any highlight reel as the big receiver hauled in five late passes in the drive.
Being that the Tier IV Wolverines have a number of first year players on the roster, and that Rundle College is a larger Tier III school, after the game, coach Chad McClenaghan told his 0-3 team, “this is the first time we can be happy about how we played this year.
“That’s a Tier III team that will challenge for a provincial title and we went head to head with them for four quarters. I’m ecstatic that we were able to play a Tier III team and not back down.
“This was a good game for us, you could feel the energy on the bench. It was easily the best game for us and for a young team, you learn from this stuff and it helps a team bond together.
“For the defence, first contact was always good and they made some big stops, but they had a strong runner (Noah Muruve) and he sometimes ran out of it.”
Another aspect of the game that pleased McClenaghan was that, after watching the game from the stands, a Canmore Collegiate Grade 9 student inquired about getting on the roster.
“I’m really happy with the effort,” he said. “Even after this loss, the guys are excited.”
The Wolverines also faced Holy Trinity, Tuesday (Sept. 24) at McMahon Stadium in Calgary and suffered a 27-21 loss.
Up next for the local squad are home games against St.
