OLDS — Members of the Olds Amateur Football Association (OAFA) are preparing for their next challenge – their annual general meeting (AGM) – now that playoffs are over for both squads.
Spokesman Dennis Yurchevich says that AGM is expected to be held on Nov. 22, but when contacted, a date and time had not yet been determined.
During that meeting, an overview of the 2021 season will be undertaken and elections for directors will be held.
“All parents and community members are welcome to join us and sign up to be on the board,” Yurchevich wrote in an email.
The season came to an abrupt end for both OAFA teams Oct. 30 in Sylvan Lake.
The Sylvan Lake Lions thumped the Bulldogs 58-23 in the Central Alberta Football League (CAFL) nine-man semi-final and the Sylvan Lake Bears thrashed the Huskies 56-16 in the Central Peewee Football League (CPWFL) championship game.
The Huskies made it to that final after beating the Rocky Junior Rebels 48-24 in the CPWFL semi-final on Oct. 23.
Bulldogs head coach Chase Molitor said simply put, the Lions were very well coached.
“Defensively we struggled. They kept getting the edge on us and we just couldn’t keep containment from there,” he said during an interview. “It was mostly the run game. Once they got outside, they were basically gone against us.”
The Bulldogs also struggled offensively against the Lions’ stingy defence.
"Offensively we’d get a couple of plays going and then we – it just wouldn’t click past that. We’d get two or three good plays and then something wouldn’t happen,” Molitor said. “It just wasn’t our best game that way.”
But he’s proud of his team’s effort.
“Our team played amazing,” he said. “Our team played their hearts out and gave it all they had. There were some tough bounces that didn’t go our way, but they played them great and they came together in the end the way they need to.”
On the bright side, Molitor noted he’ll get almost the entire squad back next season. They will have learned a lot – gained a lot of experience from games like this one.
“What I basically told them is it wasn’t the end but it was the beginning for us,” he said.
Yurchevich served as head coach of the peewee Huskies.
“Sylvan Lake was better prepared,” he wrote in an email. "They're a great team. They went undefeated this season.”
They had home field advantage too.
“The game was played on a 12-man sized field, which is what Sylvan is used to playing on (perfectly within the rules),” he wrote.
The Huskies had the same problem with the running game that the Bulldogs did.
“We struggled to contain them on their outside runs,” he wrote.
“What an incredible season,” a Huskies and Bulldogs Facebook post said. “All the players should hold their heads high and be proud.”
High school football
Meanwhile, the École Olds High School (´EOHS) Spartans football season is over for another year.
Their season ended Oct. 26 when they were beaten 54-0 by Strathmore.
"They were very young and it showed - should be good in a few years,” principal Tom Christensen wrote in an email.
“It was unfortunate there was not football last year as it would have been a large Grade 12 team," he added.
