The head coach of the Foothills Falcons football team doesn’t really know a whole lot about the team he will be facing in about 24 hours.
However, Falcons coach Greg McLeod isn’t stressed, he’s just glad to have an opponent when they take on the Bishop McNally Wolves at 6:30 p.m. at Falcon Field on Oct. 18.
The Falcons would have found themselves with a bye for the second straight week if McNally hadn’t stepped up to the plate.
“This is really important for us to have a game before we play in the Big Rock Conference final,” McLeod said. “We want our guys to be hitting someone else rather than just each other in practice for two weeks.”
The Falcons’ game against the Grande Prairie Warriors on Saturday was cancelled. They were scheduled to play the Highwood Mustangs on Oct. 19 in the Big Rock Conference semifinal at Foothills Composite High School in Okotoks, but Highwood opted to forfeit the game.
McLeod said he knows little about McNally. In fact, rather than watching the film, the two opposing coaches have exchanged information about their respective teams so neither is dumbfounded when they walk onto the field.
McLeod said not having film could be an educational tool for the Falcons. He said it forces coaches and players to pay close attention to what is happening on the field.
He added he is concerned about the Mustangs forfeiting the Big Rock Conference semifinal for the second-consecutive year. Last year, the Mustangs forfeited to the eventual champions, Holy Trinity Academy (HTA) Knights.
McLeod said he understands a smaller school like Highwood will struggle against the larger schools such as Foothills and HTA.
“If other teams know in advance the first-place team was going to have a bye, the teams could plan for it,” McLeod said. “But to try and arrange a game for Oct.19 now, is nearly impossible.”
Mustangs head coach Nathan St. Dennis said he received concerns about playing Foothills from his players’ parents, due in part to the Mustangs’ 61-0 loss to the Falcons earlier in the season.
He admitted it is tough to compete against the bigger schools like Tier II Foothills and HTA (enrolment between 750 and 1,249 students).
Highwood has been classified as a Tier IV school (enrolment less than 500 students).
“I saw the writing on the wall that we had two powerful Tier II teams in our league, but we opted to do it, due in part to cutting down our traveling costs,” St. Dennis said.
He said he has spoken with McLeod about the possibility of playing a junior varsity game during the mid-week in future years. That would allow the Mustangs and Falcons’ young players to get experience and allow McLeod to schedule a Friday night game for his older players.
The biggest issue for the Mustangs isn’t their talent, it is their lack of experience.
St. Dennis said of the 30 players on his roster, three have played at the Bantam level before entering high school.
At both Okotoks schools a large number of their players have played some minor football in the past.
The Mustangs will now compete in the Tier IV provincial playoffs.
The HTA Knights, who finished third in the Big Rock Conference, will play second-place Rundle College in the semifinal at 6 p.m. Oct. 19 at Rundle College.
The Cobras beat the Knights 9-7 earlier in the year.
Rundle College is located at 7375 17 St. S.W. in Calgary.
The winner will take on the Foothills Falcons in the conference final Oct. 26 at Foothills Composite.
