Sports | DrumhellerMail

Titans advance to South Tier IV Provincial Final

The Titans hosted the Willow Creek Cobras from Claresholm in the South Semifinal. The Cobras are a perennially strong team and came out fighting, and scored the first touchdown. The Titans clawed their way back up the field and took the lead with solid defence and a varied offence.
The Titans were leading 27-7 going into the fourth quarter and the Cobras weren’t letting up. They managed to score making it 27-14. The Cobras performed a short kick and were back on the offensive. They kept pressuring but Drumheller was back on offence with 2 minutes left. Teagan Watson went on a tear with a 60-yard run for a touchdown.
The Cobras didn’t relent and scored once more in the last minute, but the Titans went on to a 33-20 win.
“Willow Creek is always ready for provincials,” said head Coach Ken Fournier of the battle last Saturday. We had a couple of bad bounces that didn’t go our way and that allowed Claresholm to continue to have the ball. The defence held tall.”
The Titans had a bye the week before the game and took the time to put together a strong game plan.
“We had a game plan put together offensively and defensively for what we wanted to attack. Special teams – nothing worked out because of the conditions… you can’t predict how the ball bounces in conditions like that.”
With this win, the Titans will be heading to Lethbridge this Saturday to take on the Taber Rebels. The teams have history, and last season Rebels upset the Titans in the second round, advancing to the Alberta Bowl.
“We know they (Taber) have been putting up points down in the South there. They like to run the ball and they can run the ball wide and in between the tackles. And they can pass it pretty decently. They are pretty balanced and they have athletes all over the field,” said Fournier.
He feels the team is well prepared to face Taber.
“I feel like last year our guys were pretty young going into the south final and I think we have learned a lot in this last year. There has been a lot of effort in this year by design and hopefully, some of those obstacles have prepared us for this time of year to get through the south and into the final.”

Dragons earn two wins on weekend road trip

dragons logo colour

The Dragons had a successful road trip north over the weekend picking up four of a possible six points.
The Dragons made the trek to Fort McMurray to face the Oil Barons on Friday, November 11. The Dragons scored first as Walker Overwater scored his first as a Dragon midway through the first period. The Oil Barons tied it up but Ty Daneault put the Dragons up momentarily, as Fort McMurray tied it up 23 seconds later to end the first period. That was all the firepower the Dragons could muster as the Oil Barons added one goal in the second and two in the third period to win 5-2.
The Dragons then headed to Bonnyville on Saturday, November 12 to take on the Pontiacs. Again the Dragons scored first as Easton Adrian scored his first of the season. Bonnyville added one to end the first period tied. Kai Matthew scored three and a half minutes into the second period, but the Pontiacs added two goals toward the end of the second to go up 3-2.
Drumheller poured it on in the third period with Daneault starting the scoring at the midway point. This was followed by goals from Noah Danielson and Ryan Henderson. Bonnyville added one with less than two minutes left but it was too little too late as the Dragons went on to a 5-4 win.
The Dragons concluded their reload trip with a stop in Lloydminster on Sunday afternoon to take on the Bobcats. Lloydminster scored first, but Danielson tied it up 13 seconds later. The Dragons took the lead in the second with Vann Yuhas scoring. The Bobcats scored again, but Danielson scored his eighth of the season to put the Dragons up 3-2 after two.
Lloydminster scored a lone goal in the third period to force overtime. After a scoreless extra period, they went to a shootout to decide the game and Drumheller came out on top winning 4-3.
The Dragons are on home ice on Friday, November 18 to take on the Okotoks Oilers and then in Calgary on Saturday to take on the Canucks.

Dragons bounce back from home loss to top Kodiaks

The Drumheller Dagons split over the weekend, falling to the Okotoks Oilers, but bouncing back to route the Camrose Kodiaks.
On Friday, November 4, the Dragons hosted Okotoks, which has the third-best record in the league.
Ty Daneault came out and quickly scored for the Dragons just six minutes into the game unassisted, but the Oilers tied it up 50 seconds later. Okotoks added one more to go up 2-1 after one period.
Okotoks extend the lead to 3-1, two and half minutes into the second period, but Vann Yuhas scored three minutes later, and the period ended 3-2, Okotoks. The Oilers kept the Dragons on their heels through the third period, adding two goals as the Oilers went away with a 5-2 win.
On Saturday, November 5, the Dragons boarded a bus heading to Camrose to take on the Kodiaks. Daneault came out firing and scored two straight goals. Camrose answered back with one to end the first period 2-1 Dragons.
In the second, Coy Pighin scored his second as a Dragon, and 33 seconds later, Spencer Claerhout scored his first. At the midpoint, Daneault finished up a hattrick as the Dragons led 5-1 after two. The Kodiaks answered back midway through the third, but Dylan Glinski and Sam Simard each hit the net to put it out of reach. Dragons win 7-2.
The Dragons are packing their bags to head out on a road trip. The Dragons will be in Fort McMurray on Friday, November 11 to take on the Oil Barons, and then in Bonnyville on Saturday, November 12, to take on the Pontiacs. On Sunday, November 13, they are in Lloydminster to take on the Bobcats in a matinee.

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