It wasn't pretty but the Innisfail Junior/Senior High Cyclones gladly took the win on Sept. 7.
The victory was not only their first victory in the first matchup of the six-game regular season, their 12 – 7 offensive-challenged road win in Edmonton was the first since 2010.
“I didn't expect such a low scoring game in the first game. I thought it would be a higher scoring game,” said offensive coach Trevor Wooff. “We definitely tried the passing, but it wasn't sharp on either side of the ball but we did a lot of running too. Both sides of the ball were making errors on offence, dropping the ball. It was more of a defensive struggle.”
Yes, the Cyclones are back, but this time they've left behind the traditional 12-man game for the nine-man brand.
“It was just a numbers thing. We didn't have enough players to field a 12- man team and that is why we decided to go with a nine-man team,” said Wooff, who splits coaching duties with defensive specialist Ed Coles, while Jim Brittain mentors the running backs and is the team's trainer. “We tried to play in 2011 but we ended up folding before our first game.”
For their first year in the Mountain View 9 Man Football Conference, the Cyclones are in the Northern Division with the new Frank Maddock Warriors from Drayton Valley and the Edmonton Victory Crimson Knights, the squad the Cyclones defeated Sept. 7. The Southern Division's three teams include the Carstairs /Crossfield Tigers, Didsbury Dragons, and the Sundre Capital Pressure Bison.
The season runs from the first weekend of September until the league championship game, traditionally played on the last weekend of October each year. The league is open to Grade 9 to Grade 12 students who are under 18 years of age as of Sept. 1 of each year.
The Cyclones managed to field 19 players on Sept. 7. A couple of players couldn't make the game. Wooff said he expects the team will remain in the “20 bodies range” with most players coming from grades 12 and 11 with a few from Grade 10.
“Because we've been shut down three years before this season, there are only about two players that played from Grade 10 when we ran our last 12-man year, and they are in Grade 12 this year,” said Wooff. “Everybody basically plays both sides of the ball for us. Everybody has an offensive position and a defensive position.
“There are a number of kids that played bantam ball and peewee so we do have some that have playing experience in the 12-man game and that has helped,” he said, adding the nine-man game lends itself to a wide-open style of play. “There is a lot more room and space so you've got guys who can move faster and get to different places faster. You can get away with slow, overweight kids in 12-man but not too much in nine-man. They have to move pretty good.”
As for the rest of the season, and where the Cyclones ultimately place in the standings, Wooff said he has no idea what to expect for his team, as energetic and spirited as they are.
“The team we played September 7, the Edmonton Victory Crimson Knights, won the league last year but they were short benched and had only about 13 players versus our 19. A lot of the teams are in the same boat,” said Wooff. “I honestly don't know what to expect. I just told our guys to go out and have fun and do what you can do.”
