The Cochrane Cobras are once again off to the Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) football league final after a 29-0 victory over the fourth-ranked W.H. Croxford Cavaliers on Oct. 19 at Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field in Cochrane.
The game got off to a rough start for the Cobras as they struggled to find offence in the first half, which resulted in several stalled drives as well as a couple turnovers. This forced the defence to step up and force some takeaways of their own as Ben Dobson and William Hunter both intercepted the Cavaliers quarterback. The game remained 0-0 well into the second quarter before Cobras quarterback Xavier Vaillancourt found receiver Derek Reid who scampered into the endzone for a 7-0 lead. Cochrane High never looked back putting up 22 second half points en route to victory.
"I thought we had a pretty good game all around," said Vaillancourt. "The defence played well and put up another shut out. As for the offence, we moved the ball well and had a couple of mistakes in the red zone. We will clean that up for this Saturday and have a good game. We had a slow start against Croxford, but a few easily fixed errors will help us get over that. We need to get ready to roll right off the starting kickoff."
"The defence has been playing great and it's really good to see them playing at this high of a level right before our provincial run."
The Cobras went into the game a little short handed, missing receivers Dawson Gladue, Jake Thompson and Cole Higginson while also being without bruised running back Fox Bell. All four players are a key part to the Cobras offence and something that may be played into Cochrane High's slow start, but it was something Vaillancourt wouldn't use as an excuse. Derek Reid and fellow receiver Tyson Steele both stepped up with running backs Chase Hunt and Shaun Clazie and carried the load. They were able to churn out the yardage through the ground.
"Missing them is definitely very tough, but we can't change the way we play as a result," he said. "We have a lot of good, young receivers and running backs that are going to have to step up (for us) down the stretch."
The Cobras will now face the upstart Bert Church Chargers, who gave the Cobras a strong test during their game on Oct. 11 when the Cobras won 21-3. It was a gritty, hard-fought contest. The Cobras only led by a 6-0 margin at half time because of a fumble recovery by the Cobras defence and a one-year touchdown plunge by Vaillancourt. Bert Church got on the board with a field goal to cut the lead to 6-3 with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter. Vaillancourt had another rushing touchdown and Derek Reid put the finishing touches on the game with the final score ending as 21-3 in the Cobras favour.
The Chargers who defeated Springbank in the other semi-final game 17-16, finished the regular season 5-1 and outscored the opposition 228-49. Cochrane on the other hand was 6-0 in regular season play, scored a league high 232 points while allowing a league low 17. Vaillancourt expects the championship game to be a battle.
"Bert Church is a fast, athletic team," Vaillancourt said of the Cobras future opponent. "We are going to have to play well in order to beat them. We need to move the ball and keep possession because they also have a good offence that can make you pay."
The Cobras and Chargers will tangle on Oct. 26 at Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field with kick off taking place at 1 p.m.
In the 'B' bracket, the Bow Valley Bobcats saw their season come to an end with a 40-21 loss to the George McDougall Mustangs. While the Bobcats went winless over the course of the season, the young squad continued to get better and put up more points each week than the previous one. They will look to re-load in the off-season before getting back on the field for camp in late August.
