It may have been a cold day, but the Cochrane High School Cobras were on fire, as they cruised to a 67-28 victory over George McDougall High School Mustangs to capture the Rocky View School Association (RVSA) Tier 3 football Division title on Oct. 31.
Cobras came out of the gates looking to make a statement, and did so on their first offensive drive. Quarterback Tae Gordon ran a touchdown in, before linebacker Ethan Forrest recovered a fumble to make it 14-0 early on.
Cobras continued pressure throughout the first-quarter reaped rewards as slotback Erik Nusl added a third to give the home team a 21-0 advantage going into the second-quarter.
“We were up 21 points early on, and the momentum was going our way,” Rob McNab, Cobras co-head coach and offensive coordinator said. “They came back fighting and did pretty well. They’ve got a lot of good athletes.”
The second-quarter was end-to-end football, as the visitors looked to cause Cobras some trouble. Mustangs grabbed a TD and converted the extra two points making it 21-8. Cobras responded through Nusl and Gordon (both with their second TDs of the game), while Mustangs added another two TDs making it 27-22. That was as close as the visitors got to an upset, before Cobras kicked it into overdrive.
A laser of a pass by Gordon picked out Nusl for his third TD of the afternoon, while Forrest (his second), and defensive back Joel Quennell scored to make it 46-22 at the half.
“We said at half-time, we just need to keep the foot on the gas, and do what we do best,” McNab said. “We made some mistakes in the first-half, but overall we played well.”
The second-half was characterized by some textbook defence from Cobras. They managed to stifle Mustangs, and added three more touchdowns from Gordon (his third), slotback Zach Rabe, and receiver Dawson Price. Mustangs didn’t give up, and managed a solitary TD in the fourth-quarter, capitalizing on a fumble at Cobras one-yard line. However, it was not enough as the home team finished the game with a 39-point lead.
With the Division title under their belts, Cobras now have a bye-week, and next host Cardston High School Cougars in a Provincial Quarter-final matchup on Nov. 14. Time has not yet been announced.
“They’re always tough,” McNab said of their upcoming opponents. “We’ll take the rest this week, since we need it. We’re a little banged up.
Cobras aren’t letting their Division win go to their heads, and are taking each successive game as it comes, with one end goal in sight.
“We’ve been focused since day one on the Provincial Championship,” McNab said.
“That’s always been our goal.”
