Time to press the panic button? Hardly.
More like time to whup the players harder at practice.
That was Cochrane High School Cobras co-head coach Rob McNab’s message to his players after escaping Airdrie with a nail-biting 14-13 win over the host George McDougall Mustangs on Sept. 13 in both teams’ Rocky View Sports Association season-opening football tilt.
A missed Mustangs convert and a last-minute, three-down goal-line stand at Cochrane’s five-yard line were the only things separating the Cobras from their third loss of the season – the two earlier losses coming in exhibition play against Grande Prairie and Groesbeck (Texas) Goats.
The Alberta 2A varsity high-school football program at Cochrane High is a model of efficiency and success, having won 11 provincial titles since 1986.
But this year is different. With seven returning seniors, the Cobras are relying on an over-weighted number of Grade 11’s and 10’s this fall. Nothing comes easy in high school football, but Cochrane High faces a more challenging campaign now than in seasons past.
“We have to develop our youth,” McNab, the team’s offensive coordinator, insisted.
“We’re relying on a lot of Grade 10’s and a lot of Grade 11’s. I don’t like the rebuilding phase because that’s not what we’re about. We just have to keep playing.”
Both Cochrane scores came in the hands of Grade 11 receiver Erik Nusl, hauling in first-half touchdowns from senior quarterback Cody Stevens. The Mustangs were not giving away anything, holding Cochrane to two first downs in the second half.
“They played some good coverages on us. They come hard. They bring a lot of bodies,” McNab said of the Mustangs. “Their defence is all about their linebackers. And they are good. Our kids have to be better. Those young kids have to get moving.”
Unfazed, Cobras co-head coach and defensive coordinator Bruce O’Neil insists his guys are good to go, the defence doing enough to earn Cochrane a win with 14 points.
“The kids played really well at the end there,” O’Neil said. “I was pleased. We just need to be more consistent.”
Getting that first win will boost the young Cobras as the season advances.
“Huge. I think the kids would have started doubting themselves (if the team had lost),” O’Neil said. “Even the coaches would go, “What do we need to change?’ ”
Defensive backs coach Jeff Avery summed up: “It’s coming. A win’s a win. Right now, we’ll take that.”
