OLDS — The École Olds High School Spartans football team hopes to keep its perfect win/loss record intact this Friday when it takes on the Holy Rosary Raiders in Lloydminster.
This past Friday, Sept. 6, the Spartans downed the Titans 35-25 on the road in Drumheller to improve their Big Sky Football League record to a perfect 2-0.
The Spartans opened the scoring at the six-minute mark of the first quarter when quarterback Aidan Knobben hit receiver Ethan Pedersen for six-yard touchdown.
A missed Point After Touchdown (PAT) left the score 6-0.
The Spartans expanded that lead at 11:44 of the second quarter when Knobben hit receiver Carson Cristensen with a 27-yard pass for another TD. A failed two-point convert left the score at 12-0.
With 5:54 left in that quarter, the Titans got on the scoreboard on a 15-yard pass and run TD. A missed PAT made the score 12-6.
But Olds struck back.
With 2:29 left before the half, running back Radek Heppner rumbled in from the two-yard line for another Spartan TD.
A pass from Knobben to Pedersen resulted in a two-point convert to make the score 20-6 at half-time.
The Titans scored their second major at 4:04 of the third quarter to narrow the lead. However, a missed PAT left the score at 20-12.
At the 1:45 mark of that quarter, Heppner answered back with a 12-yard ramble for another touchdown. Another missed PAT left the score at 26-12.
Just after that though, with 1:32 left in the third quarter, the Titans ran a kickoff back for a major their own, tightening the score again. A missed PAT left the score at 26-18.
At the 6:15 mark of the fourth quarter, the Spartans forced a safety on the Titans, edging the score up to 28-18 for the Spartans.
With 3:30 left on the clock, Knobben fired a 29-yard TD pass to Gabe Drent. A PAT by kicker Cayden Craig padded the lead to 35-18.
With 23 seconds remaining, the Titans threw a 40-yard last gasp TD pass and with a PAT, the final score stood at 35-25 for the Spartans.
Head coach Kent Lorenz liked what he saw from the Spartans, not only offensively but also on the defensive side of the ball.
Defensively they were led by Sam Andrew, Riley Watkins, Bailey Manton and Gavin Cruickshanks.
“Other than a few early-season learning lessons, the Spartans’ defense was outstanding,” Lorenz wrote in a text.
“First-year defensive end Gavin Cruickshanks continues to shine. Sam Andrew was a tackling machine and led the team in tackles and forced fumbles.”
All that said, Lorenz said the team still has “some work to do” on special teams.
“Growth and consistency is vital to eliminate costly mistakes that can change momentum and field position,” he wrote.
Moving forward, the team is focusing on skills, team play and conditioning.
The Spartans’ next home game is Sept. 19 at home at Normie Kwong Park versus the High River Mustangs.
