There are two playoff games left in the high-school football season before the Alberta Bowl provincial championship games get underway on Nov. 26 at Calgary's Shouldice Athletic Park.
If they are to make it that far, the Cochrane High Cobras are hoping one of those two games can be at their new turf field, which after three years of fundraising efforts and three months of construction, is nearly game-day ready.
Tommy Knitter, the Cobras' defensive coordinator, said as of Nov. 4, all that's left to do is install the uprights and bleachers, and Cochrane High's turf field will be ready to go. The installation of the field's turf surface and floodlights was already completed earlier this season.
“I do know both Rocky View Schools (RVS) and Wilcox are working hard on getting things completed as soon as possible,” he said.
Knitter added the Cobras coaching staff are crossing their fingers they'll get a game on the new surface this year, but if they don't, they'll be eager to do so in 2023.
“Whether it happens this season or next season, we’re just going to do our jobs and make sure we’re ready to play, no matter where the venue is," he said.
Thanks to their win on Friday night in a South Central Zones qualifier, the Cobras are hosting the Tier I ASAA provincial quarterfinals against Calgary's Henry Wisewood Warriors next week. If their new field is not ready by then, the game will likely be played across town at Bow Valley High School.
If they beat the Warriors and advance to the ASAA Tier I semi-finals, the Cobras will have one more chance to host a game this football season.
Field goals
The new amenity at Cochrane High will be the town's second artificial grass sports field, following the completion of the Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field at Bow Valley High School in 2014.
The $2.5 million turf field project for Cochrane's tri-school site (the grassy area between Cochrane High, Elizabeth Barrett Elementary, and Manachaban Middle School) has been ongoing for years, though sod was officially turned this August.
The ongoing constructions means the Cobras football team has been forced to practice elsewhere this season, while playing their home games at Bow Valley High School's turf field – Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field – as they have done for the past several seasons.
“Honestly, it’s been difficult to practice away from our home field during the construction process,” Knitter admitted. “But we’re excited to bring football back to Cochrane High School. It’s something we’re looking forward to, whenever it happens.”
According to Knitter, the impending completion of the long-awaited project is due to the efforts of various stakeholders, including the Cochrane Track and Field Association, the local public school division, municipalities, businesses, and various public and private donors.
Stakeholders have raised or secured $2.5 million in donations and financing, nearly half of which was from an anonymous donor to anchor the project. Municipal support has come in the form of $600,000 from the Town of Cochrane and Rocky View County, and a half-million-dollar grant from the Canada Community Revitalization Fund.
“I think it shows the work of the Cochrane Track and Field association to get a facility built, and it shows the commitment of RVS to promoting athletics in our school board," Knitter said. "It’s been about a three-year process here at Cochrane High and it’s something we’re excited for.”
