Following a three-game losing skid, the Airdrie Raiders overcame the Calgary Wildcats 33-21 May 16, in the midget team’s final game of the 2019 Calgary Spring Football Association (CSFA) regular season.
Despite a disappointing first half that saw the Raiders go down 21-6, the team rallied back with a spirited second-half to secure the nine-point victory.
“They came out with lots of energy, the Wildcats,” said Raiders head coach Steve Kemp. “It was a different game-plan than we were ready for.
“I think our coaches did a really good job at halftime, really rallying the troops and adjusting. In the second half, we were able to string plays together, shut their offence down and settle into a groove.”
The Raiders’ slow start meant the team trailed 14-0 in the first half before Ben Dobson took advantage of a blocked punt to put Airdrie on the board.
“We’ve been working on that play for a couple of weeks now, and it was nice to see we were able to home in on it,” Kemp said. “Ben Dobson picked up the ball, and he – who is one of the fastest kids in the province, in my opinion – was able to run. Nobody can catch him when he gets into open space.”
The Wildcats scored again, bringing the score to 21-6, but Raiders running back Wyatt Anderson made it into the end zone to close the gap to 21-12. Airdrie then scored on the two-point convert to come within one touchdown of the Wildcats.
Anderson, filling in for Michael Schaan at running back, was a beast all evening for the Raiders’ offence – the Grade-11 student made powerful runs forward almost every time he received a hand-off from quarterback Danny Skelton.
“[Anderson] is a great north-south, downhill runner, which was the perfect combination for their defence and what we wanted to accomplish this week,” Kemp said. “He ran the ball extremely hard and we’re very happy with how he played today.”
The Raiders went into the halftime break down 21-14, but scored on its opening drive of the third quarter, when Tristan Remus-Arevalo caught a diving catch in the end zone off a 25-yard pass from Skelton.
With the score level, Airdrie continued to pile on the offensive pressure. The Raiders’ efforts were rewarded early in the fourth quarter, when Ryan Bradbury put a kick through the uprights from 15 yards out. His field goal brought the score to 24-21 – Airdrie’s first lead of the game.
Meanwhile, Airdrie’s defence was putting forward one of its strongest performances of the season, preventing the Wildcats from scoring more points. Shortly after taking the lead, the Raiders’ D-line extended the team’s lead by forcing the ‘Cats to take a safety for two points.
“We’re definitely a third-quarter team – it seems we come out slow in the first halves,” said linebacker Gavin Armstrong.
“We stopped getting in our heads, mainly, and started playing as a team instead of for our own benefit. We started making plays with teamwork, and started executing better.”
Up 26-21, Airdrie was still at risk of losing if the Wildcats scored another touchdown. But the Raiders put the result to bed with an insurance touchdown in the final two minutes, through a close-range quarterback-sneak.
The win earned Airdrie a fourth-place finish in the Boulton Division and a 3-3 record. After last year saw the team go 1-5, Kemp said the team has shown significant growth.
“They say you have to learn how to lose before you can learn how to win,” he said.
“We had to take some lumps, for sure, and learn how to play. But we know we can compete with the big three. I think our future is trending in the right direction and I like the attitude in the locker room.”
The Raiders will face the Wildcats again in the first round of the CSFA playoffs at Shouldice Athletic Park in Calgary, May 23. Start time was yet to be determined as of May 21.
“I don’t think we’ve played them in probably eight years in regular-season play, and now we get them two weeks in a row,” Kemp said.
“This [win] is good for our morale and good for our confidence.”
