In one fell swoop the Foothills Falcons football team served notice they will be a force to be reckoned with in 2012.
The Foothills Falcons put on an air show in shocking the defending Tier I provincial football champion Harry Ainlay Titans 42-21 in a dazzling performance, Friday at the Falcons Field in Okotoks.
“We were doubted by everybody, they were saying Harry Ainlay is going to walk in and stomp on you,” said Falcon Hunter Karl. “They’re Tier I and we’re Tier II, but that doesn’t say anything, it’s whoever wants it more, whoever shows more heart.”
The defending champions looked poised to put it to the Falcons early on.
It was an inauspicious start for the hosts as the Titans steamrolled to six points on the first play from scrimmage on a long outside run. The early score could have easily deflated a team, especially considering the Titans routed the Falcons 51-9 last September. Not the 2012 Falcons.
“They know Ainlay is a good program and going down a touchdown on that first play really had the opportunity to rock us,” said Falcons head coach Greg McLeod. “But I’m just really proud of the way the guys responded.
“It shows the maturity of the team from a year ago.”
Foothills answered with a goal-line run from running-back Josh Koshman to tie the game 7-7 in the first quarter.
Once the teams switched sides, Falcons quarterback Taylor Armsworthy put in the performance of a lifetime versus the Titans.
Armsworthy hooked up with receiver Hunter Karl on three long passing plays, a 26-yard fade route to cap off a 109-yard drive, a 52-yard Hail Mary on the final play of the first half to tie the game 14-14 and a 53-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter.
“It was actually not a very pretty throw,” Armsworthy said of the Hail Mary toss. “It didn’t really spiral, but went right where it needed to go.”
Armsworthy would add his fourth passing touchdown of the night after avoiding the blitz and finding T.J. Tighe from 38 yards away in the right corner for the score.
“That’s by far the best game he’s ever played in his life,” McLeod said of his quarterback. “And that’s huge for him to get some confidence going in to the third week of the year.”
Armsworthy agreed with the assessment of his head coach.
“Absolutely, I’ve never played that way before,” he said. “I think I just have the mentality that I can do well if I put my mind to it.”
The Grade 12 quarterback said he’s getting used to the new spread offence installed this season.
“It was a little hard at first,” Armsworthy said. “But there’s a lot of options on it and that’s what I like.”
His number one option was clearly Karl on Friday.
“At the beginning of the season my mind was nowhere, I couldn’t do anything,” said Karl, who was at Chestermere High last year. “We just started practicing and all I had to do was put my hands out and Taylor put the ball right there.
“I couldn’t ask for a better quarterback.”
The two were teammates on the Atom, Peewee and Bantam Foothills Eagles and don’t look to have lost any on field chemistry.
“Coming into this year I was excited because we talk, we’ve been buddies forever,” Karl said. “And you like playing with your best friends, you can’t replace that.”
The Falcons’ defensive unit wasn’t exactly a slouch either, twice forcing fumbles while the Titans threatened in the red zone and picking off three passes, one from Jake Hunter and two by Karl including a 67-yard interception returned to the house to end the game.
“He just continues to amaze us,” McLeod said of Karl. “He’s been a real nice addition to the program on both sides of the ball and just makes plays with his athleticism.”
The upset victory came at a cost for the Falcons. Slot-back and safety Jake Hunter broke his arm making an open field tackle to stop the Titans on a crucial third down play in the fourth quarter with the score 28-21 for Foothills.
“This year more than a lot of years past we’re really playing for each other and not just saying it, they’re really laying it out there,” said McLeod, who didn’t want to speculate on how long the injury will sideline Hunter. “He’s definitely our defensive MVP, but like I said to the guys after we were cycling guys through, it didn’t seem to matter who was in, they were getting the job done.”
The injury, followed by a lengthy delay for the ambulance to cart off Hunter, clearly rallied the Falcons to close out the game for their injured teammate.
“Jake Hunter is our leader and he sacrificed his body for six inches,” Karl said. “That game was for Jake.”
Karl said the triumph over Harry Ainlay affirms the belief permeating through the young team.
“It proves what we can do, but it also sets a bar,” Karl said. “Now we’ve got to play above that bar, it’s all a stepping stone.
“From Brooks to this is a big step and we’ve got to play better, we’ve got to get to that provincial title, that’s our main goal.”
The Falcons’ next opportunity to improve comes on Friday when they travel to High River for a meeting with the Highwood Mustangs on Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.
