Business as usual.
And, while you can take nothing for granted in football, the Cochrane High School Cobras are running like a well-oiled machine. That machine rolled over the Olds High School Spartans 55-7 in Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (ASAA) regional playoff play Nov. 2 at Calgary’s Shouldice Park, Encana Field.
The win sets up a Nov. 9 ASAA provincial Tier 3 quarterfinal against Cardston at Shouldice/Encana, 5 p.m. kickoff.
The weather in the regional qualifier against Olds was challenging and the field conditions fair after being plowed just prior to kickoff. Visibility was poor with swirling snow.
That didn’t stop quarterback Cody Stevens from spinning the ball through the blizzard as receivers Kyle Moortgat and Nik Noseworthy were stabbing passes like it was a sunny July afternoon. After Stevens pitched five touchdown passes in the first half, Kelton Beach took over at QB in the second and the Cobras just kept gunning. Justin Mount (3), Noseworthy (2), Moortgat, Zac Deagle and Wyatt McLeod all scored touchdowns for CHS.
“It was a lot of fun, especially with the weather,” said Moortgat immediately following the Olds game. “We really had to stay focussed with the snow. When you’re looking up and you get that one snowflake that falls in the eyeball, you lose sight of the ball for a sec. You just squint the eyes a bit and really focus in on the ball and you should be fine.”
While field conditions were fair, there was still snow piling up on the artificial-turf playing surface.
“When they cleaned it (field) it was good,” said Cobras co-coach and defensive coordinator Bruce O’Neill, who credits team spotter/videographer Steve Hancock with alerting park officials of the need to clear the playing surface. O’Neill added you can only do so much with the game plan to accommodate the weather.
“I don’t think you can prepare. You practise all week and you just assume the field is going to be good. You can’t really plan for it.”
While the game plan doesn’t change, there are items like footwear and warm clothing for the players that aid in coping with the weather. Players wore capes on the sidelines for warmth and each had three pairs of shoes to tackle the conditions, and Olds.
“No change in the game plan,” stated co-coach and offensive coordinator Rob McNab. “We were going to come out and do what we do. It’s what we practised all week. We don’t really have much else. We’re going to throw.”
The Cobras are going to need their A-game against Cardston, the 2010 provincial Tier 3 champs who beat Cobras in the 2010 semi to get to the final.
“They’re very similar to us,” McNab observed of Cardston. “They’re athletic, we’re athletic. They have good speed, they like to throw the ball.
“It’s going to be a good game.”
