Sports | DrumhellerMail

Titans pick up silver at Alberta Bowl

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It was a fairytale season for the Drumheller Senior Titans, but that tale came crashing to reality at the feet of the St. Paul Lions.
The defending champion Titans had a great season going undefeated and landing in the top spot in South at the Tier IV level. They battled through the postseasons and ended up back in familiar territory, at the Alberta Bowl.
It was familiar territory for the St. Paul Lions as well. They have been to the final three times before, but never left with a trophy.
This time the Lions roared. By the end of the first quarter, the Lions were up 14-0. By the end of the second, they were up 35-0. One more touchdown in the fourth quarter put them up 41-0 for good.
Not looking for excuses, coach Ken Fournier tells the Mail, the Titans didn’t play to expectations.
“We had only 46 yards of offence. You can’t fumble the ball twice in the first quarter and then throw two picks, and expect to win in a championship game,’ said coach Fournier. “The simple reality is the guys showed up, we made mistakes and we paid for it.”
He said St. Paul played a good game.
“They did some good things, they could kick long field goals, they could run the ball, they were good a blocking at the point of attack and they didn’t commit any errors,” said Fournier.
Despite this loss, the Titans program is in elite territory with this trip to the final.
“We made a lot of progress along the way, but after going all the way and winning it last year, it is hard to replace all of those pieces. That experience in big games plays a huge factor. That was a big part of the reason we made it back, having experience with our grade 10s and 11s that returned from last year,” said Fournier.
He adds that St.Paul made the Titans deviate from their game plan.
“A big part of our success this season was we were able to execute our game plans without much disruption,” he said. “By making those mistakes early our guys were finding it difficult to maintain that level without following a game plan.”
“Sometimes you make it there and the ball doesn’t bounce your way, and it can derail from there. Once St. Paul capitalized from those first turnovers, they were like a locomotive,” said Fournier.
“Looking towards next season, we had some good accomplishments this year. The guys returning got a taste and hopefully, we have an opportunity to play for that again.”

Dynos win zones, provincials-bound

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The DVSS Senior Girls Dynos Volleyball team are the 2A Zone champion and are heading for provincials.
The Dynos have been having a strong season, winning matches and tournaments as they hone their skills. They have an impressive 35-13 win record, including last weekend’s victories.
The 10 member team coached by Erica Crocker, and assisted by Rachel Graff, finished at the top of the pack in the league, tied with Trochu. At the championship night, however, the tables were turned, and Three Hills won the league championship while the Dynos finished in third.
Undaunted, the team went to zones last weekend in Okotoks. They placed third in their pool and went on to play Acme in the quarterfinals and defeated them in two sets. The semifinal put them up against Three Hills, and while it took them three sets they were victorious.
In the final, they faced Strathcona Tweedsmuir of Okotoks, which is ranked fourth in the province. The Dynos dropped the first set but battled back in the next two to win the banner.
This weekend, they are heading to Ecole St. Joseph School in Whitecourt for the provincial championship.

Seniors Titans battle for provincial title Friday

The Senior Drumheller Titans have one last stop on the road to the provincial championships, and that is in Red Deer against the St. Paul Lions.
The Titans are defending their title this Friday at the Tier Alberta Bowl. This comes after dispatching the W.R. Myers Rebels of Taber at home last Saturday.
The number four-ranked Rebels made quick work of Canmore to play in the South Final against the Titans but ran into a strong Drumheller squad.
The Titans went up early, scoring two quick touchdowns, and never looked back. Each team added another touchdown by halftime, making the score 21-7. The Titans held strong on defence despite the best efforts of the Rebels.
“We know playing these teams at this time of year, they are going to throw everything they got at you,” said Coach Ken Fournier. “Taber came out and were able to move the ball interior-wise, and our defence did a good job of eventually shutting that down. Our running game came off strong.”
After being up by halftime, it was the Titans’ goal to grind out the clock, and the defence did that for them, despite being outsized.
“Our defensive mentality is bend but don’t break, don’t give up the big play, and that is what they did,” he said.
He does add they need to keep the game clean.
“That’s two weeks in a row where we gave up first downs deep in our own zone off of penalties, so we got to get rid of those,” said Fournier.
The match is set for Friday. The number two-ranked St. Paul Lions had a bye through the first round and then came up on top winning 29-20 against the Sexsmith Sabres to earn their way into the final.
Game time this Friday is 7 p.m. If the Titans win they will be tied with Ardrossan for winning five titles at the Tier IV level.

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