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Cobras cruise to Tier 3 divisional championship

The Cochrane Cobras overcame a slow start with an explosive second half, as the team beat the Bow Valley Bobcats 41-9 to claim the Rocky View Sports Association’s Tier 3 football gold medal at home, Oct. 30.
Ben Lawrence scored three touchdowns in his team’s 41-9 victory Oct. 30.
Ben Lawrence scored three touchdowns in his team’s 41-9 victory Oct. 30.

The Cochrane Cobras overcame a slow start with an explosive second half, as the team beat the Bow Valley Bobcats 41-9 to claim the Rocky View Sports Association’s Tier 3 football gold medal at home, Oct. 30.

Quarterback Quinn Wilton threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns to Ben Lawrence, while Kellen Forrest added three on the ground and two field goals.

“(Bow Valley) came to play and clearly made some adjustments since the last time we played them,” said Cobras’ co-head coach Rob McNab. “We had to make some adjustments at halftime and once we did that, we started to control the game. Ben and Kellen carry the team, but Quinn stepped up big today.”

“We played a lot better than we did the first time against them,” said Bow Valley offensive co-ordinator Mick Carlisle. “It’s a tough loss and the season’s over, but we played pretty good and gave them a scare.”

The Cobras opened the scoring 10 minutes into first quarter when Wilton found Lawrence on a short pass and he ran it 65 yards to the endzone. However, on the next drive, the Cobras fumbled on their own 24-yard line, which set up Bobcat quarterback Sam Dornian’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Brad Kulhavy.

Bow Valley missed the extra point and wouldn’t come close again, as the Cobras rallied to score 28 second half points.

“I’m not too worried about the slow start,” McNab said. “It’s playoff football and you’re not going to have big scores all the time.”

“It was a very good first half as the defence was working well and the offence scored on a bit of a trick play,” Carlisle said. “We had them where we wanted them and gave ourselves a chance in the second half. They then scored two quick touchdowns and made it 27-6, and we were battling the rest of the game like that. But a 6W-2L record is nothing to be ashamed of. We only had two losses and finished ranked No. 6 in Tier 3, so I’m really proud of our team. It was a good season, but it’s tough for the Grade 12’s.”

With the win, the Cobras earn a bye into the Tier 3 Provincial quarterfinals and will host a game on Nov. 13.

McNab said he is content with having an extra week to prepare for Provincials, especially at this time of year, as Cochrane will be able to rest, recoup from some nagging injuries, and spend more time going over game film.

“We’ll give the guys a couple days off, then we’ll watch film and run them to keep the conditioning up,” he said.

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