A Bert Church touchdown off the opening kick wasn’t enough to phase the Springbank Phoenix, as they rallied to beat the Chargers 45-14 in the Rocky View Sports Association division semifinal, Oct. 22.
“Nobody on our coaching staff gets worked up and our kids picked up on that,” said Phoenix head coach Tony Lucas.
The Phoenix spent the first half playing catch up. After the opening touchdown by Charger Karl Louder, Jordan Perreault-McLean tied the game with his first of two touchdowns. The two teams traded touchdowns before Springbank took the lead with 30 seconds left in the half on a field goal by Zach Adolphie. However, it wasn’t the play Lucas was hoping for.
“I was disappointed that we didn’t get a touchdown on that drive,” said Lucas. “We didn’t start the second half well. They had another good run right off the bat. What changed was our D stopping them on that drive. That was the turning point, and we took off.”
A slow start to the second half didn’t last long, as Springbank became unstoppable. A 30-yard catch by Perreault-McLean and his second touchdown of the game opened the scoring in the third quarter. They would go on to three more touchdowns including a fumble recovery by offensive tackle Will Nieuwenburg and an interception return by defensive back Kevin Demmers.
“Sometimes it’s like a snowball going downhill,” said Lucas. “It’s gets faster and faster and easier and easier. We couldn’t seem to make any mistakes on offence or defence.”
Despite scoring early, Springbank’s offence was too much for Bert Church too handle. The Chargers took a dejected knee and some even shed a few tears along the sidelines once the game was over. At game time, the bronze medal game hadn’t been scheduled, and many of the seniors believed that they were ending their high school football careers with a loss. The game was played Oct. 28 in Chestermere.
“The kids were fired up and focused and that first play was a great way to start the game,” said Andy Kirk, the Chargers’ head coach. “We were very happy with the first half. A lot of line play took over in the second half. We had a couple of bad bounces in the wind, but they drove hard at us and we weren’t able to hold them off.”
The Phoenix will now take on the George McDougall Mustangs in a repeat of last year’s final, which Springbank won 15-14 in triple overtime. Lucas is hoping that the team can carry on the momentum from the game against Bert Church, but knows that George Mac will put up a fight.
“We need more of the second half (against George Mac),” said Lucas.
“We won this game last year in triple OT. We know it’s going to be difficult, and I hope we can come out on the right side again.”
The RVSA Tier II final was played Oct. 29 in Springbank after the Rocky View Weekly went to press.
