Cobras advance to provincial semi-finals with win over Bow Valley

By Tim Bryson Co-coach, WCCHS Cobras football team

The Willow Creek Composite High School Cobras football team won their seventh straight game and advanced to the 3A provincial football semi-finals, and south final, with a 34-22 win over a stubborn Bow Valley Bobcat squad from Cochrane, on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the University of Lethbridge community field.
In the week before the game, film study showed that Bow Valley would be throwing it all over the field and they were true to form. The Bobcats figured early on that running against the Cobras’ front seven was not in the cards, so quarterback Kaden Barnstable and a very talented receiving corps started throwing, and didn’t stop until the end of the game.
The Cobras got on the board first as a fumble forced by Logan Hurlburt set the Cobras up at the Bobcat 24-yard line. The drive stalled and Zak Wright kicked the first of his three field goals for a 3-0 lead.
The Bobcats went right down field, as Barnstable hit receivers James Drake and Nick Mason for big gains before Drake hauled in a five-yard touchdown pass, giving the Bobcats a 7-3 lead.
The Cobras took over in the second quarter, with scoring drives of 68 and 75 yards. The first drive was almost all on the ground, as Logan Hurlburt played “ground and pound” against the Bobcat defence, before Wright scored on a short run. The second drive was only four plays, but the big play was a 60-yard touchdown pass from Briggs Baker to Zak Wright.
Meanwhile, the defence was turning up the heat, tightening up their coverage and bringing pressure that generated three quarterback sacks, lots of incompletions and two conceded safety touches, all of which led to a 21-7 halftime lead. From the middle of the first quarter until halftime, the Cobra defence had an answer for everything Bow Valley threw at them.
The Bobcats came out with a bit more fire in their bellies in the second half. Barnstable hit Nick Mason with a catch and run play over the middle for a 70-yard touchdown strike to cut the gap to 24-14. After a Cobra fumble gave the Bobcats the ball near midfield, a good looking drive set the Bobcats up for a field goal, but the kick sailed wide for a single point and a 24-15 Cobra lead going into the fourth.
After the single point, the Cobras proceeded to score again on a 75 yard drive that was highlighted by pass completions of 47 and 36 yards (a touchdown) from Briggs Baker to Zak Wright. The Cobras finished off the scoring when Wright kicked a 26-yard field goal for a 34-15 lead.
The Bobcats were able to muster one last drive covering 75 yards in six plays, but the Cobras were able to keep everything in front of them, and the Bobcats didn’t score until there was only 1:38 left on the clock.
This was easily the most challenging passing attack the Cobras had faced all year. Despite yielding 292 yards, the secondary went for long stretches where they had everything covered up. Micah Rice had his best game as a Cobra with one tackle, one assist, three passes defended and a fumble recovery. Tyce DeJong locked down the corner on the other side with two tackles and four passes defended. Matthew Clarke returned from injury to anchor the middle of the secondary. Even when completions were made, they were often excellent throws into excellent coverage. Austin Perry, Easton Wright and Syler Sabey had quarterback sacks.
With the win, the Cobras advance to the provincial 3A semifinals this Saturday at Cochrane High School against the Cochrane Cobras. Cochrane is a long-time Tier-3 power and a rich tradition of football, so this will be yet another stiff test for the team nobody gave a chance at the start of the year. The winner of Saturday’s game travels to Grande Prairie for the 3A provincial championship game between the winner of the Holy Rosary/St. Paul semifinal.