INNISFAIL - The Innisfail Cyclones are five-peat champions.
The Mountain View 9-man Football Conference (MVFC) team was crowned champion for the fifth consecutive year after downing the Strathmore Badgers 48-12 in the championship game at home on Nov. 3.
It was a feat to celebrate, especially since this year was dubbed a rebuilding year for the Cyclones.
"We didn't know what to expect because we lost half of our team and we had fewer numbers than we did last year, but these guys all stepped up and did their job," said head coach Trevor Wooff.
Despite Innisfail having a strong lead Strathmore put up a good fight.
“We didn’t run away with it and we didn’t really win the game until the fourth quarter,” he said. “We knew we were in for a battle and with all the injuries and walking wounded we had it was a tough game as usual.
“This is the first game that our offence actually outplayed our defence,” Wooff added. “This is a good thing to see, with the offence taking charge, stepping up and doing it when they needed to.”
Woof noted some disappointment with the downsizing of the league this year. Earlier in the season, the Didsbury Dragons and the Sundre Bison folded due to several reasons, including a lack of player participation.
“It was a weird year in that we had some teams fold,” he said.
“It’s disappointing. It paints a little bit of a tint on this (championship), but the boys still played hard and they still stayed undefeated (in the regular season) and that’s very difficult to do at any time,” said Woof.
A big priority in the off-season will be rebuilding the league, he noted.
“(We want to) make sure these boys have a place to play and teams to play,” said Woof. “That’s a big thing that all the teams, including the ones that are left and the ones that folded, are trying to work towards, making sure we have a functioning league for next year.”
Team captain and Grade 12 student Brett Fox won his third championship last Saturday.
“It’s pretty incredible to have that kind of consistency over the years,” said Fox of Saturday’s championship win. “(We have) a great team, teammates and coaches.”
For Fox and other Grade 12 players it was their last championship together.
“It’s a good way to go out. It’s a great group of guys that I’ve been with for a bunch of years and it’s exciting to go out on top with them,” Fox concluded.
