The Airdrie Storm gave up a touchdown on the second play of the game.
It was not the way head coach Steve Kemp wanted to start out.
The Storm weren’t able to recover and ended up dropping its second straight Calgary Bantam Football Association game 53-8 to the Calgary Colts at Shouldice Park on Sept. 3.
“We learned that what we do in practice reflects on game days and that we need to focus, buckle down and practice harder.” Kemp said. “If we can cut down our mistakes at practice, we can cut them down in games. They have some really good players over there, but I think we put them in really good situations with mental mistakes. We didn’t put them in any tough situations.”
After opening the scoring less than two minutes into the game, the Colts put up another major, on a 52-yard touchdown run, with two minutes left in the opening quarter. A five-yard Calgary touchdown pass at the start of the second quarter extended the lead to 24-0 at halftime.
“On defence and offensively, we just sputtered all day,” Kemp said.
“We left the D out there way too long. It tires them out and springs the other team on big plays.”
The Colts went up 40-0 early in the second half, after a 32-yard rushing touchdown and a 50-yard defensive return for a touchdown, following a Storm fumble.
The lone highlight of the game for Airdrie came with 4:44 left in the third quarter, when quarterback Duncan Little found wide receiver Bennett Thompson wide open on the 38-yard line. Thompson broke a tackle and scampered into the endzone for a 64-yard touchdown reception.
“That was something we noticed at halftime, we just weren’t getting the time or the blocks up front. But the O-line held their ground well, Duncan threw up a nice ball and obviously Bennett caught it,” Kemp said.
“Everything seemed to click on that one – and that’s the way we should be playing.”
The Colts added two more touchdowns late in the game to complete the lopsided score. But Kemp said there were a few positives to take away from the game.
“I thought in the third and fourth quarter, we played better, played smarter and buckled down. We just need to figure out a way to translate that into the first half,” he said. “We just need to play smarter and both sides, pay attention, focus and get our heads in the game.”
The 0W-2L Storm will take on the 2W-0L Calgary Hilltoppers on Sept. 10. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Shouldice Park’s Hellard Field.
