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Titans battle Spartans

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The Senior Titans have been playing strong football all season however they ran up against Strathmore last Friday, who put them to the test.
The Titans were in Strathmore to take on the Spartans. Strathmore is ranked number seven in Tier III, a higher division than the Titans, and showed their prowess on the field, winning 15-10. Despite this, head coach Ken Fournier saw some bright spots.
“We started out good defensively, we played really well, and got two safeties in the first half. On offence, we were winning the field position battle, all up until the turnover,” said Fournier.
“We answered back and put some nice drives together.”
The team did get some good chances, including a first and goal.
“We didn’t capitalize on that, and I wasn’t too happy about that. That is two weeks in a row where our players have a scoring opportunity, and it doesn’t seem like we have the hunger to get that touchdown,” said Fournier. “That is going to be addressed in the locker room because we can’t have a first and goal and not capitalize. So whether that is guys missing blocks or not getting off the line fast enough, that is something we are going to work on over the next couple of weeks, because we are losing games because guys are not hungry enough to score.”
Despite these mishaps, the game was within reach, and Fournier takes that as a positive.
“In tight games against good teams, every mistake is magnified. If you are not willing to go out inthe key moment like that and make plays, it’s going to be a struggle so we are going to have to be better in the struggles,” he said.
He notes it is also important for the team to play a team that battles you from beginning to end.
“The whole goal of these games and learning from them is to force ourselves to play a broader game,” he said. “We made sure we stuck to our game plan, and we came up short. But we saw a lot of positives and saw a lot of things we can build on.
This coming week the Titans host Carstairs on Friday, October 14 at 7 p.m.
This is Seniors Night, where graduating players will be honoured. After that, Fournier hopes to arrange another exhibition game before the post-season begins.

Bantam Titans face undefeated Olds Bulldogs

The Bantam Titans are having a strong season, but they ran into a formidable opponent on Saturday afternoon when they faced the Olds Bulldogs.
The Bantams hosted the Bulldogs on October 1. What started out looking like an even match game, with both teams scoring on their first opportunities, The Bulldogs took over.
“Olds are undefeated. They have some good numbers,” said Coach Brad Iverson. “We are a fairly young team, so they were a little older than us.”
The extra experience on the Olds squad was evident as they went on to a 60-14 win.
“It was a bit of a tough one with Olds there, but overall it has been a good year so far. Prior to that, we had two wins and a tie,” said Iverson.
“Everyone was pretty good after the loss, no one was really down.”
He has high hopes for the coming season, with his young squad.
“That’s why I’m happy this year we have 19 of our 25 kids coming back next year, so that bodes pretty well that we are having a good season so far,” he said.
The strength of the team is coming on the offensive end.
“Prior to last game, we scored over 50 points every game, so the offence has been going really good,” he said. “The commitment of the kids has been really good too. They are coming to practice and having fun, so that’s important.”
The Bantams are playing in a nine-team league, playing 9 per-side football.
This week Iverson explains he has arranged an exhibition game against the Calgary Cowboys Bantam community team at McMahon Stadium.
“They are a community team and play in the Calgary Bantam Football associations. They have a 12-man team that plays in the regular league and a nine-man team because they get quite a few kids out… after that it’s the playoffs.”

Dragons battle at Showcase Weekend

The Dragons were in Blackfalds this weekend and had the opportunity to face off against talent from the AJHL Northern Division.
The Dragons were in Blackfalds for the AJHL Showcase weekend and took on the Bonnyville Pontiacs on Thursday, September 29.
The Pontiacs have been playing great hockey so far this season. and are in third place in the Viterra North Division. They wasted no time getting on the scoreboard and led by one after the first period. They increased their lead just a minute and a half into the second period, before Ty Whitford put the Dragons on the scoreboard, making it 2-1 going into the third period.
Bonnyville increased the lead again midway through the third, but Noah Danielson added a goal for the Dragons with over three minutes remaining.
Bonnyville put it out of reach with one more goal making it a 4-2 final. Goaltending played a role as the Dragons outshot the Pontiacs 36-22.
On Saturday, October 1, the Dragons faced the Fort McMurray Oil Barons for the first time this season. After a scoreless first period, Fort McMurray went ahead by two goals in the second. They added one more at the 13:16 mark of the third period, but Adam Raesler connected on the powerplay with 45 seconds left. It was too little too late as the Oil Barons went on to a 3-1 win. Again the Dragons led the way in opportunity, outshooting the Oil Barons 49-38.
The Dragons were at home on Tuesday, October 4 to take on the Blackfalds Bulldogs, results not available at press time, and are on the road this coming weekend to play Canmore on Friday, October 7 and Calgary on Saturday, October 8.