The Senior Titans finished their year better than ever expected when they were pitted against the top seeded team in the province during their conference final game against Willow Creek.
“Most of the members of the senior high Titans, coaching staff and players alike, took away from Saturday a win. It was a moral victory,” said head coach Jason Rasmussen. “It was a game where guys really realized their potential and played with such heart and dedication to themselves, their teammates, and the program.”
With nearly half the team puking on the sidelines with the flu, the Titans ignored their stomachs and focused on the game. They started out slow, but once the team got rolling, the Cobras couldn’t answer the Titan squad.
The first play of the game, the Cobras caught an interception and scored a touchdown immediately. Down 22 to nothing in the first half, a change room pep talk changed everything for the team.
“We all said to each other ‘they’re not the strongest team we’ve played’. Coach Hatch said stomach flu was one of the hardest things to play through, but told us we needed to tough it out. It inspired the team,” said quarterback Braydon Mahon.
“We came back on offense and never stopped.”
After moving the chains enough to come within a touchdown and two point conversion to winning, a minute was left on the clock when a Titan missed a key pass which slipped through his fingers. A Cobra picked up the ball and ended their drive.
“The whole team played so well, and with so much heart... the coaching staff couldn’t be more proud of what happened on the field that day,” said Rasmussen.
“Anytime you lose to end your season, it’s tough to take. Even though there were tears shed by members of the team, to realize that your football career is over, once that initial pain and shock wore off guys started realizing ‘we played the best game of our lives, and we showed the province, Willow Creek, and ourselves, that we were a very good team.”
Claresholm thought they’d walk away with an easy victory, but when the Titans got their head in the game, they tried desperately to regain momentum but they kept it on their side.
“It was a game I’ll never forget,” said Mahon, who just finished his sixth and final season with the team he’d come to love. “Definitely a good way to end the season.”
“Football teaches you to be a better person– the morals of life, to respect everyone, to never give up and keep fighting. If I didn’t have football I’d definitely be in more trouble.”
