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RVC players feature in Calgary spring football league

Rocky View County will have plenty of representation on the gridiron this spring, with players from Chestermere, Cochrane and Springbank donning the Airdrie Raiders jersey in the Calgary Spring Football Association (CSFA).
Positive start
The Airdrie Raiders midget football team has plenty of players from Springbank, Chestermere and Cochrane this season. The squad won its first game of the 2019 spring season April 3, downing the Central Alberta Prairie Fire 34-13.

Rocky View County will have plenty of representation on the gridiron this spring, with players from Chestermere, Cochrane and Springbank donning the Airdrie Raiders jersey in the Calgary Spring Football Association (CSFA).

The CSFA is a midget tackle league comprised of players in grades 9 to 11. With no competing teams from Chestermere or Cochrane, players from those communities are suiting up with the Raiders.

“Okotoks has a team, but Chestermere is split between us and Okotoks,” said Raiders head coach Steve Kemp. “[Players from] Springbank, Cochrane, Airdrie, Drumheller, Strathmore, Olds and Hanna come to us.

“We have quite a mix of talent. We have some kids who are travelling two hours each way for practice.”

The Raiders enjoyed a positive start to the season April 3, downing the Central Alberta Prairie Fire 34-13. Touchdowns came from running back Michael Schaan, quarterback Danny Skelton, receiver Blaise Newberry, running back Shaun Clazie and linebacker Dylan Sorsdahl, who scored on a pick-six.

“It was a short week of practice and it’s a very condensed schedule right now, so coming out, we had to gel a bit and find our groove on offence,” Kemp said. “The defence came out and was flying, and there was a good intensity right from the beginning.”

Schaan put the Raiders on the board within the first three minutes, catching a screen pass and outpacing the Prairie Fire defensive back into the end zone.

In the otherwise-scoreless second quarter, Airdrie managed to tack on two more touchdowns in the final minute before halftime. Skelton increased the Raiders’ lead to 13-0 in a short push to the end zone with 47 seconds left, following a positive drive that brought Airdrie within a few yards of the Prairie Fire’s goal line.

On the ensuing kick return from Prairie Fire, the Raiders’ special teams forced a turnover on the 25-yard line. Skelton then found Newberry for a diving catch in the end zone on the Raiders’ first down.

“[Tonight] was probably the most fun I’ve ever had playing football,” said Skelton, the Springbank Phoenix pivot who emerged as one of the top Grade-10 players in the Rocky View Sports Association in 2018.

“We’ve been working so hard, and it was nice to come out against a good team and perform the way we did.”

The Raiders continued its defensive dominance into the third, preventing the Prairie Fire offence from coming within scoring distance. Clazie made it 27-0 for Airdrie with less than a minute left in the frame, forcing his way into the end zone following a hand-off from Skelton at the five-yard line.

The loudest cheer from Raiders’ fans came in the fourth quarter, when linebacker Dylan Sorsdahl scored an 80-yard TD after intercepting a pass deep in Airdrie’s red zone and galloping all the way downfield. The pick-six sealed the result and brought the score to 34-0 with three minutes left.

Kemp touted the strength of the Raiders’ offence, noting all five of the team’s touchdowns came from different players, and each receiver caught at least one pass.

“Right now, it’s so early to say what we do better than anything, but we’re really deep at running back,” he said. “The strength is our depth, and how many guys we have on the roster who can all play.”

With a comfortable 34-point lead, Airdrie started to field its second-stringers in the final frame, allowing the Prairie Fire two consolation TDs.

“In the fourth quarter, we started rolling the bench,” Kemp said. “The expectation of our guys doesn’t change, but there are some players who are brand new and learning the system.

“They played well and hung in there, but there are a few things we need to fix and correct.”

The Raiders’ season continues April 11 against the Calgary Rebels. According to Kemp, there will be added incentive for the Raiders to secure the victory, as the Rebels ended Airdrie’s season last year.

The match-up will be fought under the lights, with an opening kick-off set for 8:30 p.m. at Hellard Field.

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