Now former Cochrane Cobras running back Fox Bell has signed his Letter Of Intent (LOI) to play university football with the Vanier Cup champion Calgary Dinos on Dec. 17.
Bell, who was part of the Cobras team that went 6-0 during league play, won both of their playoff games to win the Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) league championship before adding another three wins in provincials to take home their sixth straight provincial championship with a 17-0 victory over the Holy Rosary Raiders. Cochrane High outscored their opponents 390-31, an average score of 35-2. The Cobras put up a total of five shut outs over the course of the 11 games they played this season, one of the most dominant performances by a Cobras team over the course of their history.
"It is a very accomplishing feeling to sign with the Dinos to prove all my hard work paid off," Bell said. "The workouts and the practices whether it's 20 degrees or -20."
Bell will join his older brother Joseph on the Dinos, who he also played with at Cochrane High where they won two provincial championships together.
"It was something I thought about when I signed on to be a Dino that he would join (me)," said the older brother who signed with the Dinos last season. "It was a goal when we were training before our respective seasons that we would both be playing with each other again."
"I am proud of his hard work and I know that my brother and I will be strapping up for many years for the Dinos and our parents are very happy with that and very proud that both of us will be able to play together."
"It will be a very cool experience," Fox said. "I've always been at the same school and on the same team as my brother except for this year. It will be awesome to join him again as we love to win together. Looking at other programs was difficult as having my family close to school and being at the same school as my brother was a major part of my decision."
Bell said those factors made the decision easy to decide where he was going next year and said he'd like to get the most out of the experience.
"Yes my brother signed last year as well as a couple of my best friends this year," he said. I'm very excited to join the Vanier Cup winning team."
"I would like to get the most out of school and also continue to enjoy football."
Cochrane High has churned out some major talent that has gone on to play Canadian and American college football, as well as a few members who have played professionally. Bell said that the fact the team has a number of kids moving onto the next level every year is a testament to how good the program is.
"I think it shows we aren't just some Tier 3 school. We have phenomenal coaches that want to see us succeed," Bell said of his time at Cochrane High.
"They have taught us a lot of key things to make us successful in life ... one thing our coaches are always on us about is commitment and showing up. Built by commitment is our motto. This shows that our coaches are here to help us and if the players just have to apply ourselves and show up, the results will come."
Bell said he's had a few days to reflect on signing, winning a couple of awards at the team banquet on Dec. 15 and just the season as a whole.
"Going into high school I had no idea that I would be playing football," Bell said. "Then when I became a starter, I had no idea I'd get the opportunity to play university football. I love the sport, I'm very competitive and I am thankful that I had the opportunity and the coaching to get to where I got to."
