Over the weekend, the DVSS Sr. Boys basketball team travelled to Strathmore to compete in their first tournament for the year.
    The first game of the tournament saw the Dynos go up against the Rosemary Rockets, where the Dynos were able to take advantage of their size on the offensive end getting 40 points from their bigs led by Alex Cliche’s 17 points.
    The Dynos’ size also gave them an advantage defensive end with the strong play of Alex Cliche protecting the rim with 5 blocks and Brock Boyd’s 5 steals, allowing the guards to put extra pressure on The Rosemary perimeter players.
    In the end the Dynos came away with a 71 to 40 victory.
    The second game on Friday would put the Dynos up against the Formost Falcons.
    The Dynos came up strong taking an 11 to 0 lead, but Formost fought back and the Dynos came up of the first quarter with a 16 to 10 lead.
    The second and third quarter saw the Dynos clamp down defensively, again led by the Alex Cliche’s 6 blocks and Brock Boyd’s 5 steals. Meanwhile the Dynos offensive charge was led by the strong play of Cody Gouin, Kyle Smith, and Jordan Britton giving the Dynos a 61 to 38 victory and putting them in the semi-finals against one of the host schools, Holy Cross Collegiate.
    In the Saturday game, the Dynos faced a determined HCC team. The Dynos started off strong taking a 22 to 13 lead into the first quarter, but HCC fought back in the second and played even with the Dynos giving the Dynos only a 10 point lead at half time.
    At the beginning of the 3rd quarter HCC managed to close the gap to six points as the Dynos struggled to score, with some offensive adjustments and going with a smaller line up the team was led by the energy of Cody Gouin as the team’s defense picked up holding the Hawks to 17 second half points. This energy also carried over to the team’s offense as the Dynos scored 41 second half points led by Jordan Britton’s 24 points and Kyle Smith’s 14 points off the bench.
    In the final, the team faced a very strong Vauxhall team. The first quarter was played back and forth as it ended with a 13 to 13 tie. At the end of the second quarter the team defense picked up and the team was able to pull away with a point lead.
    The second half, Kyle Smith, who is returning from a football injury, took the team on his back and scoring at will and finishing with a game 34 high points. In the end the Dynos captured the championship with an 80 to 65 victory, and are now 5 - 0 for the season.
    The Dynos next action sees them in Three Hills up against a strong PCA team on Wednesday, before they play their first home game of the season on Wednesday, December 21.

    Last Thursday night the Drumheller Titans were able to celebrate a most successful season  with their annual awards night.
    And what a year to celebrate.  The Senior Titans went all the way to the provincial championship. It has been a long road for the organization, which first fielded a team in 1996.
    Kellie and Merv Smith have been involved for eight years and have seen the program grow.
    “When we started we couldn’t always field a team. We would have parents dropping kids off like a baby sitting service, and they just didn’t want to help,” said Kellie. “It has just grown from there. Not only can we field a team we can field a couple lines. The bantams are wonderful coming up, and this isn’t the end.”
    Not many teams in recent years have caught the imagination of the valley like this year’s run for the championship. Stories have trickled back to the coaching staff that have made them stop in their tracks.
    “People in the IGA, during the last five minutes of the championship game, stopped and listened, holding their basket of groceries,” said member of the coaching staff Jason Rasmussen. “Players walking into Wal-Mart and everybody stopped and applauded them when they saw the jackets. It was amazing to hear these stories, to see the support we got from the community.  For the coaching staff and the players to get that kind of support from the community where we live work and play is really important to us.”
    While the seniors are relishing in their provincial victory, the bantams also had a banner year.
    The bantams finished the season with a 3-3 record, the best record ever. They were competitive as they entered the playoffs.
    They really played like a team,” said coach Paul Redmond. “I am so proud of the boys, it is unbelievable.”