Two years after surrendering the Airdrie Bowl to Bert Church, the George McDougall Mustangs football team took back the coveted trophy on Sept. 17 in emphatic fashion, downing the Chargers 34-3.
Playing in front of a packed crowd at the Ed Eggerer Athletic Park football field, the Mustangs maintained their unbeaten start to the 2021 Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) season with a dominant performance against their cross-city rivals.
“It was really nice to execute the way we did,” said Mustangs head coach Chris Glass after the game. “We’ve been playing well all season and kind of continued that today with our momentum. We had a good, fast start, and those are hard to come back from in football.”
One of my favourite sporting events of the year to cover in #Airdrie is underway - the Airdrie Bowl! Current score after three quarters is 20-3 for the @GMHSMustangs over the @BCHSChargers pic.twitter.com/oQkwfHRnQT
— Scott Strasser (@scottstrasser19) September 17, 2021
The annual Airdrie Bowl is a rivalry game that features the Mustangs and the Chargers’ football teams. While the game is just a regular-season fixture, the winner of the annual match-up takes home a trophy, as well as local bragging rights.
While the Mustangs have mostly dominated the annual match-up over the last decade, the Chargers ended their rival’s eight-year win streak in 2019 with a huge 74-6 victory.
Due to COVID-19, the Airdrie Bowl was not held in 2020.
“It felt really good to get that trophy back where it’s been traditionally housed,” Glass said, adding it was nice to see a full crowd of George McDougall and Bert Church students out to cheer on their classmates.
“This is probably the last time we’ll get a good attendance for a little while,” he said. “Last year, not having the Airdrie Bowl was tough on everybody, and it’s good to see things a little bit back to normal, even with the restrictions being the way they are.”
George McDougall’s touchdowns came from Paul Condon, Parker Nay, and Mason Korf. Glass touted the strong partnership Condon showed with Grade 12 quarterback Adam Mosher, who threw for two touchdowns.
“Adam played great today,” Glass said. “He and Paul Condon are such a dangerous duo. You take away the run or you take away the pass, but either way, one of them is going to find a way to burn you. We had a very unselfish game from a lot of players, so it was excellent.”
Mosher, who also logged playing time as a Grade 10 quarterback two years ago, said he enjoyed the opportunity to earn redemption by winning the Airdrie Bowl in his senior year.
Paul Condon puts the icing on the cake for the Mustangs with a last-minute TD. 35-3 for @GMHSMustangs with about 57 seconds left on the clock in this year’s #Airdrie Bowl. pic.twitter.com/swzzuNoCJM
— Scott Strasser (@scottstrasser19) September 17, 2021
“It’s a big rivalry but it’s all for fun,” he said. “I know all those guys and we’re really good friends. It’s just a lot of fun and very competitive. We all want to win.
“It’s been a long time and we’re excited. [We’ve had] two years to prepare and everyone has been so motivated. We’ve been working so hard for this.”
As for Bert Church, their sole points came off of a 25-yard field goal in the first half.
After the game, Chargers head coach Tony Lucas said the Chargers were disappointed, both with the performance and the score line.
“This wasn’t a result we expected,” he admitted. “We expected the game to be competitive and to win the game. But a lot of credit to the other team – they played great.
“We did make a lot of mistakes we hadn’t made throughout the year, and that we weren’t making in practice. Especially on offence, we seemed unable to execute like we were in practice and during our last game against Chestermere.”
The loss means the Chargers are currently still looking for their first win of the 2021 RVSA season, having started the campaign with a tie against the Chestermere Lakers and a loss to the perennially strong Cochrane Cobras.
As for the Mustangs, their 3-0 start to the season means the team is currently sitting in sixth place on Football Alberta’s weekly top-10 rankings for Tier II high school football teams.
“I think after today’s game, we’re going to be a little more noticed and hopefully move up in the ranking,” Glass said. “[Bert Church] is a very tough team. They’re a good, young football team. We did our job and put up some points, so it should be recognized.”
George McDougall will look to maintain their unbeaten start Sept. 25 against the Springbank Phoenix, while the Chargers will have a bye week before taking to the field Oct. 1 for a game against the Bow Valley Bobcats.
For a full schedule, visit rvsa.rockyview.ab.ca
