The Titans have travelled a long road to be at provincials, but rest assured Ardrossan has as well.
The Titans are on the field under the Friday night lights in Lethbridge in the Alberta Bowl. Their road to the provincial championship was made a little easier last week when St. Timothy’s of Cochrane opted to forfeit the semifinal. Nonetheless, the Titans are more than hyped for the game.
“It is exciting, it is a rare opportunity when you get to play for provincial gold, it is not the way we wanted to get to the game but we’ll take it just the same,” said coach Ken Fournier. “If anything, these guys are increasing their focus. The level of their focus at practice is amazing we’re able to just keep moving forward.”
He isn’t surprised that it is Ardrossan on the other end of the field after they beat the West Central Rebels of Rocky Mountain House 21-15.
“West Central High is a really good team - they put up a really good fight against them,” said Fournier.
Coach Fournier said the Titans need to get ready to defend a strong passing team with a quick quarterback.
“We have seen some good passing teams but it looks like this team’s playbook is based on the pass,” said Fournier. “We should be able to adapt to whatever we see.”
“When you toss the ball in the air, three things can happen and two of them are bad. So if you are where you are supposed to be, if a team want to throw against us it’s okay,” said Fournier, adding they also need to be aware that Ardrossan can also move the ball on the ground.
“They don’t have the big running backs we’ve seen all year, but they have quick skilled running backs, they are a really skilled offence.”
He said the key is keeping the ball out of Ardrossan’s hands.
“It is about controlling the ball. When you play against teams like this, to shut them out is a pretty rare thing. They are going to move the ball and make big plays,” said Fournier. “We just have to control the ball on our end.”
The Titans have not been to the provincial finals since 2007 where they lost to Sylvan Lake.
Ardrossan is no stranger to the big game, either.
“In the football world in Alberta, this is a pretty big game, because the Ardrossan Bisons have been lurking around that provincial game five or six times. This is a great opportunity for them, and they have worked hard to get to where they are, and so have we,” said Fournier. “Coming off a season where we thought we were going to be middle of the pack and rebuilding, and then to see the addition of a couple of players and coaches, we have been able to take off. The team has come together and is fighting.”
