The Drumheller Valley Secondary Dynos senior girls volleyball team was in Calgary once again this past weekend at a tournament at West Island College.
    The Dynos were ousted in the semi-finals by a mere five points.
    “We made it to the semi-finals. It went to the third game, but we lost 15-10,” said head coach Dawn Sullivan.
    The tournament was held over Friday and Saturday, and saw each of the five teams play 13 matches in total. The Dynos were up against teams from West Island College, Banff, Invermere, and Whitecourt.
    Overall, the team played well, but still have room to improve according to Sullivan.
    “We had five games in the tournament where we lost by five or fewer points,” said Sullivan. “They were quite entertaining games at times, where there was some pretty good action. At times they had a very good attack and we made quite a few blocks. The blocking and attack is coming along, but we just have to work on consistency. They lose their focus for a bit and then have to dig themselves out.”
    The volleyball season is at the half way point and the team will be working on being at their best for zones on November 16 and 17.
    “We’re about half way through the season. We’re still working on consistency, so hopefully we’ll peak and be playing our best around Zones. Every time we go on the court we’re seeing improvement,” said Sullivan.
    The road to zones continues tonight when the Dynos hit the road to take on Trochu. Afterwards, the Dynos will head to Olds for another tournament on October 26 and 27.

Senior Titans finish off Olds in league play   

    The Drumheller Senior Titans battled their way back from an early deficit to win their final league game and earn a bye to the championship.
    The Titans took on Olds in league play in front of a hometown crowd Saturday. In the end they walked off the field with 27-17 victory, but it took some hard work.
    The Titans came out slow and suddenly found themselves down by 10 points. Like in many cases this season head coach Ken Fournier said the ball just didn’t seem to be bouncing the right way for them. On two separate occasions on punt return, the ball took an unusual bounce and found its way right back in to their opponent’s hands.
     Similar to last week the Titans didn’t bury their heads, instead they battled back.
    “Again for our guys to be able to respond to that and come back. To stay in those games and not get discouraged on plays like that is great,” said Fournier. “That response to adversity is what you need when you want to be a good football team.”
    He said Chase Kostelecky had the game of his career.
    “Normally he is a defensive back, but this week he played wing back and he marched that ball down the field,” said Fournier. “He stepped it up and played a very good game on both sides of the ball. For a guy that is generally a defensive player to come on with the offense and make some big blocks is a pretty good thing to see and great for the other guys.”
    “There was a great team effort by everybody,” said Fournier. “These guys are a very resilient team and are taking a lot more pride on what is happening on the field and looking out for each other.”
    The Titans have earned their way to another Big Sky Conference final, but they will have to wait an extra week to take on the winner between Olds and Canmore for the trophy. 
    This may be a blessing in disguise for the banged up roster.
 Kordell Sykes was back in the line up for the Titans last weekend, as was Spencer Fournier, although in a limited capacity. Coach Fournier hopes that Josh Weeteringen will be back in playing shape come the final.
    “It is looking good, we are getting healthy. We survived and now we have a bye week to get people healthy and ready for that game,” said coach Fournier.
    Just like the bantam Titans, if they keep winning they keep playing and retain home field advantage.
    “It’s all do or die from here. This is the most exciting time for football. If we keep winning, we will be hosting the championship and then the first two rounds of provincials, which is huge,” said Fournier.

Bantam Titans play for Championship Saturday   

    The Bantam Titans are into the league final this coming Saturday at home, and they did it with a vengeance.
    The Titans walked over their competition as they stormed to a 58-0 win over Innisfail at DVSS field.
    This was the first time the Titans have met Innisfail and they were able to regroup after some tough games leading up to the semi finals.
    “The offense is back on track and the defense is still playing strong,” said coach Paul Redmond. “We went back to basics, the base five plays and kept it simple.”
    The Titans started strong and never looked back.  They hope to repeat this weekend when they host Springbank for the league championship. This was the first season the Bantam Titans were able to beat Springbank, and they did in a convincing fashion. They used their whole bench to come up with a 36-20 victory in league play.
    The Titans are confident going into the game. If the team keeps winning, they keep playing.  A win puts the team in the provincial rounds.
    “We’ll have them ready again for the next weekend,” said Redmond.