Taking down the Lethbridge Coyotes 37-16 this weekend, Titans head coach Jason Rasmussen said the team is looking good this year.
“We weren’t thinking one dimensionally like we typically would,” Rasmussen said. “We had an extremely effective passing game and the defence played very well.”
he Titans had the opportunity to play in the new and beautiful Sports Stadium Complex near the University of Lethbridge.
He said right from the start, the offensive line came out and moved the ball into the end-zone, setting the tone for the rest of the night.
The Titans had an effective passing game, throwing over 200 yards. The Coyotes were frustrated when development of their outside rushing was consistently shut down by the Titans.
“I don’t want to read too much into it,” said Rasmussen, the Lethbridge Coyotes are in their first year of play with only half the team having field experience.
“They had never experienced the Titans before.”
Rasmussen says the team is exactly where they want to be, and at this point, look better than they had in the division finals against Rundle College last year.
“We still have wrinkles to iron out, but we’re night and day compared to last season,” he said.
The coach says the team has returned from their trip to San Diego a stronger team, giving invaluable experience to the players.
“This win against Lethbridge has given the offence and defence renewed optimism and confidence, it can only bode well for us.”
But their trip and win over Lethbridge doesn’t mean smooth sailing for the rest of the season.
Rasmussen has been preaching to the team that adversity will come, and to draw from past experience to rise to the challenge.
The Titans face a tier four league filled with strong teams.
This Saturday, they will face the Spartans in Strathmore at 3:00 p.m., in a game that is hard to determine who will win, the coach said.
“They’ve had trouble with us over the past years, but no one in the league should be taken lightly.”
Strathmore’s Bantam team took championships a couple years ago, and those players will be making a presence Saturday.
Schools like Drumheller, with a population around 250, face adversity when challenging a school that draws on a population much larger.
But this year’s Senior Titans are a well-rounded bunch, with Grades 10, 11, and 12 being evenly distributed, a situation that hasn’t been the case over the last few years when a strong Grade 12 team will leave a small Grade 10 team behind.
“I’m pretty excited about what will come,” Rasmussen said.
The next Senior Titans home game isn’t until Saturday, October 9, where they will take on the Highwood Mustangs of High River at 1:30, following the bantam game at 11:00 a.m.
