The Innisfail Cyclones of the Mountain View 9 Man Football League have made it to the top of the mountain with their first championship in their 12-year history with an overwhelming 64 to 27 victory over the Sundre Bison.
In front of a large hometown crowd of more than 100 parents, grandparents and Innisfailians, the local team passed, rushed and kicked their way to a convincing title win on a cool, blustery Saturday (Oct. 25) afternoon. The team, made up of high school age players, has played in three different leagues over the past dozen years but never claimed a title until last weekend.
“The boys wanted to win this afternoon,” said coach Trevor Wooff of his squad. “We had gone through the season undefeated yet we knew we couldn't take the Bison for granted.”
The Cyclones' big guns came out firing for the championship game. Quarterback Ward Marshall and Quinn Layden hit the end zone three times, and kicker Simon Biggar nailed seven converts and scored four singles in the game.
The ultimate outcome of the game appeared obvious early in the first quarter with Marshall scoring his first touchdown on the sixth play of the game.
A few minutes later, Layden ran the ball more than 20 yards to make the game 14-0, and on the next play, Biggar kicked a 75-yard single point for a 15-0 lead.
Sundre got on the board with a 75-yard touchdown run by Cameron Reimer at the 14-minute mark of the second quarter only to have Layden respond with another running TD to make the score 22-7. The Cyclones scored at the 17-minute mark as Layden again hit the end zone and Justin Woodruff snuck the ball in to make the score 37-7 before the end of the half.
After regrouping to start the third quarter, the Bison's Chris Campkin picked up a fumble and the team drew first blood at the eight-minute mark of the third.
Marshall, now being used as a running back, scored from four yards out to make the score 44-14. After converting the touchdown, Biggar scored a long single. A blocked punt by the Cyclones led to a recovery in the end zone and the hometown squad had a commanding 52-14 lead.
Sundre's Kurt Doyle returned a kickoff to make the game 52-21 only to have Marshall come back and rumble for a 75-yard major. Woodruff threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Devon Hoffensetz to round out the game with a final score of 64-27.
With less than a minute left, Coach Wooff was doused with the ceremonial water cooler to celebrate the win.
“We told the team that the second half was a new game,” said Jason Page, parent helper of the Sundre Bison. “They played with heart, and they played well, never losing their cool or taking penalties.”
Coach Wooff and Jim Britain were proud of their team and their effort.
“The boys wanted to win and they wanted to win by a big margin and we did,” said Wooff. “It took a team effort and as a team, we won.”
