Sports | DrumhellerMail

Senior Titans advance to South Final, vs Taber

Football fans were treated to excitement as the Senior Titans battled for the chance to represent at the South Finals.
The Titans hosted the Willow Creek Cobras at Don Robertson Field. Within minutes, it looked like the Titans were in control of the game with two quick touchdowns on their initial possessions.
The Cobras didn’t back down and clawed their way back into striking distance in the third quarter, with the Titans leading 20-15.
Early in the fourth, the Cobras took a 22-20 lead. Fans felt the tension as both teams failed to get any grip until the last three minutes when quarterback Gavan Cassidy connected with a long pass to Kegan Regis, who ran it in for a touchdown to make the score 27-22. A great punt and even better bounce forced the Cobras to take a knee and start deep in their end. Ultimately, the Titans’ defence held strong as they went on to win.
“We knew Claresholm was going to come out and battle to the very last whistle,” said Head Coach Ken Fournier. There was a point in that game where their bench got really loud, and they were just going. I think they had an eight-minute drive, and that is tough when they keep moving and getting first downs. We were just trying to have a bend and not break mentality and cycle guys in when we could.”
“They gave us one heck of a football game.”
With this win, the Titans host the W.R. Myers Rebels of Taber in the South Final. The number 4 ranked Rebels topped the Canmore Wolverines 47-0 in their semifinal.
Coach Fournier hopes the grind-out win will help the Titans’ resolve as they march through the postseason.
“At this time of the year when you are in games like that, it just elevates what this game is about, especially today when the field was named the Don Robertson Field, it’s just awesome. I knew Don since day one as a bantam player in 1998 all the way up until last year.”
The South Final gores at 1 p.m. Saturday, November 18, at Don Robertson Field.

Morrin Mustangs qualify for zones

The Morrin Mustangs won silver at Regionals and are bound for Zones after a strong showing at a weekend tournament.
The regional tournament played out on November 10 and 11 at St. Anthony’s School. Teams included Delia School, South Central School in Oyen, Bassano, Rosemary, Duchess and Morrin School, which has picked up a couple of players from St. Anthony’s.
The Mustangs won their pool undefeated and crossed over to play Rosemary. With that win, they went to the final versus a tough Bassano team and fell in two games.
Coach Amanda Batty said the team has been having a great season. In fact, the program over the last three years has met with some great successes.
“We have gone to provincials the last two years, and now we are having another run of success. Not that provincials would be our expectation. Our zone is really strong this year,” she said.
With this second-place finish, the Mustangs qualify for zones this coming weekend in Rosemary. There will be eight teams at zones. The top two teams will qualify for provincials in Falher.
“We try not to focus that, one game at a time, said Batty,
The team has been racking up wins all year. Their defeat to Bassano at Regionals was a good experience for the team.
“I tell the girls all the time that usually you learn more about yourself when you lose than when you win. We have been talking a lot about how you react when things aren’t going your way. That can either bring you together as a team or split you apart.”
She says the team has a positive approach.
“The last few years, we have had really positive, really coachable groups of girls who haven’t been bringing a lot of drama, just been wanting to focus on their skills and build each other up and really be there when someone is not having best game,” said Batty. “We have some new members from St. Anthony’s this year, and they just gelled right in.”

Tough road trip for Dragons

Dragons name only 1

The Drumheller Dragons had a tough week on the road, falling in two games straight.
On Friday, November 10 the Dragons were in Sherwood Park to take on the North-leading Crusaders.
Sherwood Park scored first, but Tate Yule tied it up for the Dragons less than two minutes later. The Crusaders didn’t stop the onslaught and scored three more to end the first period up 4-1. The two team matches goals in the second period with Vann Yuhas and Jacob Goudreau scoring. Connor Poffenroth scored for the Dragons in the third period, but the Crusaders topped it off with an empty netter with 1:20 left to win 7-4.
The Dragons hoped to regroup the next evening in Olds when they took on the Grizzlys, on Saturday, November 11. The Grizzlys scored first but Poffenroth and Nolan Viesner each found the net to lead 2-1 after one. Olds scored two unanswered goals in the second to end the period up 3-2 and added one more in the third period to take firm control. Poffenroth scored his second of the game and ninth of the season with 2:18 left in the game, but it was too little too late and the Grizzlys went on to a 4-3 win.
This Tuesday, November 14 the Dragons were back on home ice to take on the Camrose Kodiaks. On Thursday they return the favour and head to Camrose. On Friday, November 17, they host the Olds Grizzlys.

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