Sports | DrumhellerMail

Drumheller to become site for football combines

    Drumheller’s reputation for being a football town is starting to grow, and this fall, players from all over the area will be descending on the town to showcase their skills.
   Ron Laprise, the Alberta scouting director for All Star Football, who has begun coaching with the Drumheller Titans, is organizing the regional combine starting on December 2.
   Combines are a forum for football players to participate in a camp in hopes of being noticed by post-secondary institutions. It is an opportunity for players to be scouted for university and college teams in Canada and the United States.
   “We identify the Canadian kids who have the ability to go on,” said Laprise
   “All the kids from Brooks, Taber, Raymond…those parts of Alberta are always going to come here to Drumheller.”
   He explains the top 100 players in Alberta, including players selected from the Drumheller combine, will go to the Alberta combine held at the Collicutt Centre in Red Deer.
   Laprise has volunteered for All Star Football, run by Ron Dias, for about 11 years. He explains it has become the premier organization for scouting and delivering players to the college level.
   “Every coach in the United States and Canada will go through Ron Dias,” said Laprise. “We have to make sure we are referring the proper kids, academics are huge.”
   He said he is adding the coaches from the Titans to run the combine.
   “This coaching staff is tremendous and has great talent. I couldn’t ask for a better situation,” said Laprise.
   The coaches will be joined by other coaches from other programs in the area.
   Laprise said they were hoping to have the first of what is expected to be an annual combine at the Badlands Community Facility, however it was not completed in time. They hope to hold future events at the facility.
   Laprise said the combine would help build the reputation for the valley and for the Drumheller Titans program.
   More information on All Star Football can be found at www.allcanadiangridiron.info.

Paint the town black and gold

    Football fans are going to be painting the field gold and black as the Senior Titans play for the league championship this weekend.
   The Titans are hoping this will be their year. They have made it to the league finals the last three years, but victory has since alluded them. They are looking forward to having the extra player in the stands with the home advantage.
   “We are hoping for a huge crowd, it is always great to get a lot of people out to cheer on the team,” said Jason Rasmussen, member of the Titans coaching staff.
   The student council of the Drumheller Valley Secondary School have planned all kinds of activities for game day starting at 11 a.m. They will be having a tailgate party and even have face painting for young fans. They will also have a concession during the game for fans to warm up with a hot chocolate.
   Game time is at 1 p.m. and Rasmussen said they are planning some half time contests and activities including a kick to win contest.
   The main event will be the game. Rasmussen explains that for the last few seasons Rundle College has had a hold on the league, as well as the province in football at the Tier 4 level.
   “This year our chances are looking a lot better,” said Rasmussen.
   “I am really excited and anticipating what we might be able to accomplish this weekend.”
   Rasmussen said while they are looking forward to a run at the provincials, the Titans cannot overlook Canmore. While the Titans have beaten them twice in a row, Canmore can still be dangerous.
   “It is hard not to look past a team that you’ve beaten twice with a combined score of 57 - 0, but you can’t. Each game from this point on is sudden death,” said Rasmussen.

Titans prepare for post-season

    The senior Titans took on a top team last weekend as they prepare for the post-season.
   The Titans fell to the Winston Churchill Bulldogs last Saturday at home, with a score of 34-28. The Bulldogs remained ranked at third place at the Tier 3 level.
   For the Titans, this was the kind of workout they were looking for heading in to the post-season.
   “For the guys, even though it was a loss, it was still a victory for them because they got to see the character of their team,” said head coach Ken Fournier. “When the coaches were talking about scheduling an exhibition against a tougher team, you couldn’t dream up a better situation.”
     The Titans had a slow start. Three early fumbles early allowed the Bulldogs on the scoreboard. But the Titans continued to chip away. The Bulldogs still had a substantial lead, but Cody Gouin’s touchdown and following convert were able to cut the score to 21-34. Kyle Smith, whose performance during this game included a 90-yard return for a touchdown, picked off a pass and cut the score to 28-34 with his second touchdown.
   The Titans charge continued and they brought it back to their opponent’s 26-yard line with 33 seconds, but lost possession.
   Fournier said Smith put together a career game, and quarterback Steven Robertson stood strong in the pocket and lifted his passing game. Spencer Fournier was not only making yards on the run but on the pass as well, and the tight ends put together an amazing game.
   “I think we got the momentum in the second half. When you play teams you don’t usually see, you don’t know what kind of offense they are running, and you don’t know what to prepare for,” said Fournier.
   “They scored three right away. It was still a good match-up, but then we were battling the clock the rest of the game.”
   The Titans will be hosting the league finals this weekend against Canmore. This will be the third time Drumheller and Canmore have met on the field this season, and the Titans have swept the series. Coach Fournier said they cannot take Canmore lightly.
   “We have to focus on controlling the ball and keeping their offense off the field,” said Fournier. “They have just had two weeks to prepare for us. Their defense should be stronger against our offense. We have been preparing too, but I fully expect Canmore to come out with a new look offense.
   “They can play. A lot of our success against Canmore was turnovers that we capitalized on, so if they don’t make any mistakes they will be a lot tougher team to play than what the last score showed.”
   Game time is 1 p.m.

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