The defending Big Rock Football Conference champions hit a bump in the road in their first in-conference game of the season.
The Holy Trinity Academy Knights, Tier II silver medalists in 2011, dropped their Big Rock opening tilt 9-7 to the upstart Rundle College Cobras, Sept. 14 in Calgary.
“Our starting quarterback, Hayden Oberg, we never played him, he got banged up in the last game, and we just had a lot of problems on offence,” said Knights head coach Matt Hassett. “And we just made a lot of mistakes and didn’t play very well in the first half.”
Oberg, injured after taking a hard hit on an outside run against the Kalamalka Lakers last week, was replaced by backup quarterbacks Troy McGee and Spencer Kiranas, who both saw action in Calgary.
“Offensively we couldn’t stay in a rhythm, we would either take a penalty or just mistakes with having young quarterbacks,” Hassett said. “It wasn’t all them, there were a lot of things, we’re young on offence and we have a ways to go.”
The running game was its dependable self as Ryder Stone, the MVP of last season’s team as a Grade 11 athlete, put in another terrific performance for the Knights, scoring their only touchdown.
“Ryder made some great plays and he’s going to get his yards, he probably had over a 100 yards rushing,” Hassett said. “But they played him tough like every team is going to and we’ve just got to get to some of our other athletes and without Hayden it was a lot harder to do.”
The Knights’ coach said he was pleased with the play of his defence, though, namely linebackers Sam Stange, Colton Vessey, Nick Bonertz and halfback Mackenzie LaGrange.
The breakthrough moment in the game came on a blocked punt for the Cobras deep in the Knights’ zone leading to Rundle’s only touchdown of the game, to go along with a field goal and a missed point after attempt.
Hassett said if nothing else the Friday contest was beneficial in the long run in that it allowed his young quarterbacks to get some game action.
“Absolutely, you want to win your league games, but
in a small league like ours
everyone makes the playoffs,” he said. “It was a learning experience for those (quarterbacks) and I think it will pay dividends down the road.”
Dropping their first game against a conference rival should also serve to re-focus the Knights.
“It can be a good thing in that it gets everyone dialed in and start to be pulling in the same direction a little more,” Hassett said. “I think we should be a better team for it if it gets us to work harder in practice.”
The emergence of Rundle this season was not a shock to the Knights’ coach.
“They were quite young last year and big last year as well. They’re a year older and a lot better for it. They took their lumps last year and they’re a solid football team,” Hassett said. “Rundle’s very well coached and you always know they’re going to be a solid football team.
“Sometimes they’re going to be overmatched because they’re a smaller school, but now they’re taking kids from all the private schools in Calgary and they had 47 players.”
The Knights, who have dropped down to third in the Football Alberta Tier II rankings, will look to forget about the loss as they head south to challenge a dangerous Raymond Comets team on Friday Sept. 21.
One week later, the Knights host the Foothills Falcons with Okotoks bragging rights on the line, Sept. 28 at Knights Field.
