It took three games, but the Airdrie Storm peewee football team recorded its first victory of 2019 in the Calgary Peewee Football Association (CPFA), with a convincing 38-0 win Sept. 7 over the Cochrane Lions.
With a full roster at the ready, the Storm came up with a dominant performance to shut out the Cochrane side.
“We finally got everyone back from holidays and we were able to put everything together,” said Storm head coach Tyrell Rohl, who said the team’s coaches made a few defensive adjustments.
“We did some work with the boys and changed some stuff up. It worked really well today.”
The Storm’s win came after opening the season with two consecutive defeats – a 30-6 loss to the Calgary Mavericks Aug. 24, and 52-34 setback against the Calgary Wildcats Aug. 31.
After conceding 82 points in two games, Airdrie put forward a solid team effort against the Lions, which came into the contest with a 1-1 record.
“I feel good about the shutout and it feels good to get a win,” said linebacker Jacob Hertz, who led the Storm’s defence alongside Gabe Osenda and Maclin Brown.
“We were more motivated this game and we felt we came out pumped up, [whereas] last game, we came out flat.”
While the defence did its duty in securing the shutout, Storm quarterback Kohen Bohnet said the offence was also clicking.
“The receivers were doing good routes, and they had good catches,” he said. “Sometimes the O-line was kind of iffy, but there were good blocks and the running backs were doing good.”
Eleven-year-old running back Jaiden Barker, in particular, was a star performer on offence, scoring two touchdowns and making several blocks throughout the game.
According to Rohl, the team’s performance was a result of the players getting “back to basics.” He added it was beneficial to kick off the season against two of the CPFA’s top teams.
“When you start the season against two really good opponents like the Wildcats and the Mavericks, those are tough games,” he said.
“When you get back to playing against a team you know you can play against and do what we did – we settled in and played our football – we got back to doing what we do good.”
Airdrie’s next game will be another difficult outing, as the team prepares to take on the Calgary Cowboys Sept. 14.
“Those are the teams you want to play,” Rohl said. “[The Cowboys] are a big measuring stick for us. It will tell us if we’ve gotten better, or if we’re still where we were against the Wildcats and the Mavericks.”
The Storm will take on the Cowboys at 11 a.m. at Shouldice Athletic Park in Calgary.
Raiders fall
While the Storm enjoyed the taste of victory for the first time in 2019, the Airdrie Raiders bantam football team swallowed the bitterness of defeat for the second time this season, falling 32-0 to the Calgary Cowboys.
According to head coach Doug Robertson, the Raiders kept the score to just 8-0 until the end of the third quarter, before a strong finish from the Cowboys cemented the result.
“Talking to the Cowboys’ coaches, they said it was the toughest game they’d had all year, even though the scoreboard didn’t necessarily show it,” he said. “I’m really proud of how the defence played.
“I think the offence has a little bit of room to grow. The pressure might have gotten to them a little bit, but I think it was a really good learning experience because of that.”
The loss, which gives the Raiders a 1-2 record, means Airdrie is in third place of the six-team Brock Jacobs division in the Calgary Bantam Football Association.
The team will look to rebound Sept. 14 against the Cochrane Lions. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 a.m. at Shouldice Athletic Park.
