Josh Duazo ran in for three first half touchdowns, as the George McDougall Mustangs survived a fourth quarter comeback attempt by the Bobcats to defeat the Bow Valley team 20-14, Oct. 15 in Cochrane.
The Bobcats (1W-4L) rallied to score two late touchdowns, but the Mustangs (3W-2L-1T) held on to secure second place in the Rocky View Sports Association’s Tier 2 football standings. George Mac will now host the Chestermere Cowboys in semifinal action at 3 p.m. on Oct. 22 at Genesis Place field.
“We went into halftime up 20-0, then put some of our backups in to get everyone in and have some fun,” said Mustangs’ head coach Brent Legault. “It ended on a positive note and it lets our kids know that they can play the way we know they can.”
“We came out strong and it was a really good game, but it was really close at the end when they came back,” said Cory Robinson, Mustangs’ offensive lineman, linebacker and punter. “Everyone came together, though, played as a team and that was really good to see.”
Duazo got all three touchdowns in the first half, with two in the first quarter and one in the second to provide George Mac with an insurmountable cushion.
“The blocking was phenomenal,” Legault said. “Our receivers have done a great job all year and today they proved that. The O-line did a great job too.”
But it was Bow Valley that came out strong in the second half looking to make a statement.
After Robinson had what appeared to be a clean interception called back on a penalty, the Bobcats’ Jacob Neil was able to run the next play six yards into the end zone.
Bow Valley successfully recovered the ensuing onside kick, but was unable to drive the ball.
Mustangs’ quarterback Jordan Groves then threw an interception to Spencer Gordon, with only 20 seconds left in the game, who returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. The onside kick was unsuccessful as Mustangs’ receiver Brandon Isfeld was able to secure the ball and the win.
Bow Valley head coach Scott Allard still praised his team’s comeback attempt.
“It shows that a lot of them were able to take what we talked to them about at halftime and implement it,” he said. “It was nice to see, but it was unfortunate we didn’t wake up until the fourth quarter.”
Bow Valley will face Cochrane on Oct. 21, while the Mustangs will prepare for the Tier 2 playoffs.
“Looks like we’ve got Chestermere next week, so we’ll be ready because that was a hell of a game against them last time – 19-19 (Oct. 6),” Legault said.
“If we can play our whole game like we played the fourth quarter against them, then it will be a lot of fun for us. Our guys need to come ready to play: every single down, every single play.”
