The Okotoks Lady Outlawz got a rude welcome to the top tackle football league in Western Canada.
The Lethbridge Steel handed the Outlawz a 74-0 shutout, spoiling the franchise opening tilt for Okotoks’ entry into the Western Women’s Canadian Football League (WWCFL), May 4 at Highwood High in High River.
“I don’t know if we were really expecting to win, but we didn’t want to get blown out that bad obviously,” said Outlawz quarterback and defensive captain Allison Mouland. “It was still a really good experience and I think that’s to be expected with a brand new team in the league.
“None of our team got down on each other, nobody was blaming anyone for any one thing. We stayed positive even though it got really ugly.”
No small feat for Okotoks especially given how the game started. On the opening kick-off, Lethbridge’s Sarah Stevens returned a squib kick to the house.
On the Outlawz’s first possession they would turn it over on downs and the Steel would make them pay. Stevens was at it again, bulldozing through the Outlawz front seven.
Steel slotback Carly Dyck then found the outside edge and meandered through the Okotoks defence from 30 yards out to put a stamp on a dominant first quarter and a 21-0 lead.
It was more of the same in the second quarter. The Steel defence made life miserable for Outlawz quarterbacks Allison Mouland and Tegan Donnelly and held runningback Stacey Rogowski largely in check.
Steel quarterback Becky Heninger called her own number and rumbled in for a pair of long quarterback runs, along with Stevens’ third score of the game to give Lethbridge a 40-0 lead at halftime.
The Steel had the option to end the game with a more than 30-point lead at the midway point, but opted to continue the contest giving the first-year Okotoks players the much needed game experience in the second half. Experience such as getting one’s bell rung for the first time, for example.
“It was a shocker, I must say, but we had pads on so it wasn’t too bad. Get up and do it again,” said Outlawz wide receiver and cornerback Dannee-Lee Barr, who played every down for the undermanned team. “It was a huge challenge, I was injured as well and pulled my quad, but we get out there and we play.
“We can’t just come off just because we’re hurt a little bit. All of us played both ways. We made a commitment and we’re sticking to it.”
The Outlawz were down to just 22 players for the contest against the defending Western Conference champion Steel, a team featuring both youth and experience as third year members of the WWCFL.
“They’re experienced for one and they’re young,” said Barr, a mother of four. “Our team is pretty much made of housewives, we’re older, we’ve never played before.
“We hung out with (Lethbridge) afterwards and they gave us pointers and laughed a bit and said ‘we were like that too when we first started.’”
Mouland, no stranger to the sport as a touch football player for several years, said facing such stiff opposition right from the outset should benefit Okotoks long-term.
“Having a strong opponent first allows you to up your own game so that when you play someone that maybe isn’t as strong you can play at a higher level,” Mouland said. “It puts your team at a higher level.”
The Outlawz hit the road for their second taste of league play on May 11 for a date with the Edmonton Storm.
“I’m hoping to walk out of there with more experience,” Barr said. “We are going back to our practices and are going to work on what we learned from Saturday.
“If we don’t win, we don’t win, but maybe we’ll get some numbers on the scoreboard.”
For more information on the Outlawz, including contact information for those interested in registering for the team, go to the team website at okotoksladyoutlawz.ca
