Shouldice Park turned into a venomous snake pit as the Cochrane High School (CHS) Cobras and the Rundle College Cobras went at it in Alberta South Central Zone Tier 3 high school playoff football play Nov. 3.
And it was Cochrane who brought just a little more poison, edging the Calgary school 16-14 to advance to the South Region semifinal Nov. 10 at CHS.
Cochrane coach Rob McNab’s game plan was simple. Identify the opposition’s strength, in this case Rundle’s zone defence and middle linebacker Garrett Copp, and run the ball right at him.
Copp got a heavy dose of Cochrane’s strong offensive line and punishing running backs Josh Gingrich-Hadley and Dean Cheadle all game.
“A lot of right-up-the-middle, hard yards,” Gingrich-Hadley said following the game. “One of our biggest offensive strategies was actually to attack him. We had picks set on him. Someone had to go get him each play.”
Not the easiest way to beat the other guys, as the close score indicated. But the path of least resistance isn’t in the CHS playbook.
Just ask Cochrane offensive lineman Bryce McKinnon, who was sporting a swollen left hand as a result of his game-long combat with Rundle defensive end Jason Van De Graff.
“It was awesome,” McKinnon said. “I had to give him a hug and a handshake. That was good football.”
When it was suggested to coach McNab his team may have been sharper in previous games, he disagreed.
“I don’t know, I thought we played pretty well, in my opinion,” McNab said. “That was a good football team over there. They’re big, physical, older kids. They’ve got a great linebacking corps.
“I thought our kids did a good job. I thought we played pretty well today.”
Kyle Moortgat, on a 30-yard pass from Cody Stevens, Gingrich-Hadley on a one-yard dive and Travis Chase, with a 20-yard field goal, scored for Cochrane. The CHS Cobras now host the No. 1-ranked Crescent Heights High School Vikings of Medicine Hat Nov. 10 at CHS.
“I haven’t heard anything about them yet,” Gingrich-Hadley said. “They’re supposed to be best in the league, but if we bring our game we’ll do well.”
