The 2010 high school football season has reached its playoff stage.
It’s been an exciting seven weeks of action with the six teams in the Rocky View Sports Association jockeying for position week in and week out.
But did the regular season’s 18 games really accomplish anything we didn’t see coming?
Cochrane earned the league title by dismantling everybody. Big shock. Its offence runs better than most CFL teams, in comparison to its competition.
As Bow Valley is the only other Tier 3 team, they now get the pleasure of playing the Cobras again in the Tier 3 final.
Springbank finished first out of the four Tier 2 teams with a 4W-2L record, with its two losses coming only to the lower-tiered Cobras and Bobcats.
Quarterback Joel Stagg and receiver Jordan Perrault-McLean have been a formidable combination and could lead the team on to provincials.
Bert Church had a disappointing 3W-3L regular season record and has gone through a number of personnel changes – including the loss of talented running back Brandon Fuchs and the Airdrie Bowl quarterback switch from starter Tim Wallace to Victor Primeau.
George McDougall’s young roster only managed a 1W-5L record, but the team was much closer in competition than the scoreboard gave it credit for. Close games with Bert Church and Springbank should provide the Mustangs with an optimistic attitude heading into the playoffs.
Chestermere went winless, but the Cowboys had a poor turnout for its team and was forced to play most of its players on both sides of the ball.
With only six teams in the league, there are obviously going to be anomalies. Last week’s games between Bert Church and George Mac, Cochrane and Bow Valley, and Springbank and Chestermere, were just a foreshadow for the next slate of games – except the next round will actually count for something.
The game to point the finger at for this scheduling quirk is Springbank’s 10-9 last-minute win over Bert Church on Oct. 2. With Grade 10 kicker, and first time football player, Zach Adolphie’s 31-yard field goal that afternoon, the order in RVSA’s Tier 2 was pretty much set.
The win solidified the potential tie-breaker for the Phoenix over the Chargers and left the remaining games solely as preparation for the inevitable slate of rematches.
So now, after 18 regular season games, we’re essentially right back where we started, as six teams will battle for two spots in the regional qualifiers and a chance at provincials.
The winner of yesterday’s Phoenix and Cowboys rematch will play the winner of the Chargers and Mustangs game, for the RVSA Tier 2 gold, in either Springbank or Airdrie on Oct. 29 at 4:30 p.m., while the losers will play for bronze at the same time.
Last night’s games began after the Airdrie City View went to print.
Cochrane and Bow Valley will play the Tier 3 final on Oct. 30 at noon on the Cobras’ home field.
