After a 55-14 victory over the Chestermere Lakers on Sept. 21, the Cochrane Cobras football team placed themselves in the Football Alberta history books by recording their 40th consecutive win and breaking the previous provincial record set by the Raymond Comets in the early 2000s. In a game where the Cobras dominated the winless Lakers from start to finish, Cobras co-head coach Rob McNab said he's happy his team secured the record breaking win but also said it's important for the team to move past the record and focus on just playing football for the remainder of the season. "I think it feels pretty good for all the kids and coaches that were involved with that because it was a four year process. We can't just take credit for it this year because it goes way back to when we started this record four years ago to those kids who were winning games and working hard as well," McNab said of the streak which started back when Cochrane High defeated the Crescent Heights Vikings 56-3 on Nov. 8, 2014 eventually leading to the team's first of four-straight provincial titles. "Coach (Tom) Knitter and I were just talking about it and it's right that the pressure is off the coaches and players ... the record is done, let's move along. We have the record ... some kids are talking about building on it and we as coaches are going 'no, no, the record's done and we have to move along.' For example, we play St. Francis in an exhibition game this week at the turf, so that record right there is in jeopardy already and that's fine with us. We're just going to keep going on and minding our own business until we get our end results in November." Cochrane High also posted 50-plus points for the second time in three games this season, giving them 152 on the year while only giving up 23 to go along with their 3-0 record. McNab said the offence is moving in the right direction, but there's always room for improvement. "We did some good things in the first half and then the rain started in the second half, which made it a little tougher and we missed on some things but we got everyone in and playing so that was good," McNab said. "Every kid who wore an offensive jersey got into the game, which was a main goal of ours. I'd still like to see our kids play a full game and see what they're made of over a full game and going against St. Francis, I think they'll get that and will be a good measuring stick for how our offence is clicking." Cobras quarterback Xavier Valliancourt had another stellar game against the Lakers, a sight that has been consistent since the beginning of the season. "I think Xavier is getting better. He's a big kid with a good arm and can make all the throws ... the things we're working on now are to quicken up his feet and to quicken up his release and that will be a maturity thing as he progresses through his Grade 11 year as well as Grade 12," McNab said. "It's just a progress in the making, I don't care if you're in college or the pro ranks, quick feet and a quick release are keys and something he has to advance every single day." After taking on St. Francis in the middle of the week, the Cobras will play the 3-0 George McDougall Mustangs on Sept. 29 in Airdrie, who just so happened to be the last team who defeated Cochrane High before their 40 game win streak began. The team will then head to Los Angeles on their bye week for some team bonding. "We expect a physical game out of George McDougall and we've played them a lot so they know what to expect and we know what to expect so we've just got to play our game and see how it plays out," McNab said. "As for our trip, we're heading to Los Angeles and we're playing Webb High School down in L.A. and then we're going to see one of the top ranked high school teams down there play in St. John Bosco on the Friday night, UCLA vs. Washington on Saturday and then the Los Angeles Chargers and Oakland Raiders on Sunday, then we'll be coming home Monday. We have a full slate of football and it should be one of the best trips yet."
