Cochrane's minor football teams' 2022 seasons wrapped up earlier this month.
The Cochrane Lions peewee (U13) team ended their fall season on a high note, by winning the Calgary Peewee Football Association's (CPFA) Div. 3 championship Nov. 5 by beating the Calgary Hilltoppers 12-6 at Shouldice Athletic Park.
According to head coach Tyler Zunti, the hard-fought game wrapped up amid a snowstorm.
"We started at 10 a.m. and it was perfect weather for football, but by the time we ended the game, it was a full-on blizzard,” he said.
Despite the adverse conditions, the Lions ignored their frozen fingers to score two early touchdowns and hold onto their lead against the Hilltoppers as the clock ticked down.
"It was a nice, exciting game," Zunti said, adding the Lions' performance showcased the players' growth throughout the 2022 CPFA campaign.
The Lions finished the regular season with a 2-5 record, meaning they entered the CPFA's Div. 3 playoffs as the 12-team league's 10th seed. Cochrane then opened their playoff run with a 36-12 win over the Chestermere Chiefs on Oct. 22, to book their berth in the Div. 3 final two weekends later.
“From where we started in August to where we finished, the coaches and I focused on making sure they got better every single day," Zunti said. "It just was a really good team. There were a ton of positive attitudes, helping each other up, and propping each other up. For a peewee-aged team, that’ was really nice to see.
“It was a great year and we couldn’t have done what we’d done without all the help from coaches and parents. The kids had a ton of success because we had buy-in from the parents.”
Zunti added about half of the Lions' peewee roster has another year of eligibility at the U13 level, while the other half will move up to bantam next fall (U15). But even though the Lions peewee team will move several key players up, he said a crop of incoming players from Cochrane Minor Football's competitive atom (U11) team bodes well for the peewee squad.
"Most of the o-line will move up next year, our starting quarterback, our starting tailback and fullback, and a few guys on defence as well,” Zunti said.
“It’s how it always works. You lose half your team and gain about half from the program below."
Bantams finish runners-up
At the bantam level, the Lions also challenged for the Calgary Bantam Football Association (CBFA) Div. 3 title, but unfortunately fell short Nov. 5, losing 24-0 to the Calgary Stampeders.
The Lions finished the regular season with a 2-6 record, before booking their spot in the Div. 3 final with a 29-14 win over the Calgary Mavericks on Oct. 24.
Paul McLean, Cochrane Minor Football's president, said a positive from the bantam Lions' season was the selection of player Avery Zunti for a CBFA all-star team that will travel to Las Vegas later this week for some showcase games. He added four other Lions players were selected to try out for that opportunity as well.
"It was an amazing event for the development of those players…and it speaks volumes that the CBFA recognized the talent of many of our players," McLean said.
McLean noted the Lions also had four players selected for the CBFA All-Star team this season.
As for the Lions' atom team, McLean said the U11 group was competitive in the Calgary Atom Football Association throughout the fall season, and had 37 players registered.
"It’s obviously a development year, but I think we’ve groomed a lot of good players to move up to the peewees," he said.
Given the impacted seasons in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, McLean said the 2022 season bodes well for the future of minor football in Cochrane.
“From an association standpoint, the Cochrane Lions are really excited about the kids coming back after some challenging years with COVID," he said. "They were all on the field and had a great time. We fielded a very healthy roster size-wise for all of our teams.
"I think that shows we have a lot of interest in Cochrane and surrounding areas. We’re very pleased with the kids who are interested in playing the sport of football.”
