Injuries and poor weather plagued what was otherwise a stellar 2022 season for Airdrie's peewee and bantam football teams this fall.
After going through the regular Calgary Bantam Football Association (CBFA) season without a single blemish on their record, the Airdrie Raiders bantam team fell short in the CBFA's Division 1 city championship on Nov. 5, as they were shut out 17-0 by the Calgary Cowboys.
The game was played was a snowy and windy day at Shouldice Athletic Park, which made it tough for the Raiders to implement their strong passing game. Forced to run the ball more often than they usually would, the Raiders' offence was kept at bay by a strong Cowboys d-line, who were able to key in on Airdrie's running backs instead of worry about their receiving corps.
The Cowboys scored their points early, and then held on for the win as the snow continued to come down.
“Credit to the Cowboys – they had a good game plan right from the beginning,” said Steve Kemp, the Raiders' head coach. “With the weather conditions, it was difficult for both offences to get going. It was a very hard-fought and physical game. They were able to make some plays early in the game that caught us off guard. But then our defence settled in nicely and played fantastically the rest of the way.”
Airdrie had beaten the Cowboys in their 2022 season-opener 26-16. That was ultimately one of the closest games of the Raiders' season, as they went on to dominate the CBFA with an unbeaten record – the first time in Airdrie Minor Football's history. The Raiders went 8-0 and outscored opponents 256-25, which was by far the best defensive record in the CBFA this ear.
Given how talented the Raiders' bantam (U15) program was this season, Kemp noted the players were heartbroken to lose the city finals.
“I can’t say I blame them,” he said. “But on the coaching side of things, we were extremely proud of [not only] what they’d accomplished this year, but also the fight and character they showed in that game. [The championship game] was the first time we’d trailed all year, and it caught us off-guard at first, but they settled and started competing, fighting, and pushing back, so we were really proud of that.”
About half of this year's bantam roster is moving up to the midget (U17) age group in the spring, according to Kemp, while the other half will be back next fall to try and win the Div. 1 championship.
He added this year's bantam Raiders were a special group.
“They showed up and played hard every game and set the standard of how to play,” he said. “They forced everyone to come up to their level – and they’re a great group of kids.”
Storm out in semi-finals
Meanwhile, Airdrie's peewee (U13) football team's playoff run fell one game shorter than they would have liked.
Like the bantam Raiders, the Airdrie Storm finished with an unbeaten record in the Calgary Peewee Football Association (CPFA) regular season, going 7-0 and boasting the best offence in the league.
But their run to a championship was tarnished in the semi-finals on Oct. 29, courtesy of a 38-8 loss to the Calgary Colts. The Colts went on to win the CPFA Div. 1 title on Nov. 5.
Head coach Tyrell Rohl said the Storm ran into some injury trouble, with all three of the quarterbacks suffering injuries either before or during the game against the Colts.
He said the Storm started strong, leading 8-0 in the first quarter. Airdrie's offence was driving up the field with hopes of doubling their lead when Airdrie's starting quarterback and his son Corbin were each injured.
“Our starting quarterback Daven, he was going to the outside and there was a late hit out of bounds,” Rohl said. “He ended up getting a bad ankle sprain, so that was all three of our quarterbacks gone.
“At that point, we were playing roulette with our quarterbacks.”
From there, Rohl noted the Colts managed to take hold of the game in the second half, and the Calgarians ultimately finished with a comfortable victory to book their berth in the championship game on Nov. 5.
“Honestly, if we had no injuries and a healthy football team, we would have done the same thing we did to them in the first game we played, when we beat them 38-16,” he said.
While it was disappointing to end the season in the semis, Rohl noted there were plenty of positives to take from the 2022 campaign. Other than an unbeaten regular season, he said the players were excited to play their CBFA quarterfinal at McMahon Stadium.
“The only teams that play there are the Calgary Stampeders, Dinos, or [junior] Colts, he said. “Other than that, you have to be Notre Dame vs. St. Francis to get a game there. So for those kids, they were flying when they got down there. It was pretty cool to see.”
Rohl noted many of the peewee players will be back next fall, and the U13 roster will be buoyed by the arrival of many graduates of Airdrie's atom (U11) program, who are dominating the atom league this season.
