OLDS — Both Olds minor football teams began their season Sept. 10 with crushing defeats of their opposition, shutting out their opponents in each case.
The Peewee Huskies traveled up to Rocky Mountain House where they won 24-0.
That afternoon, the Bantam Bulldogs napalmed the visiting Lloydminster Chargers 92-0.
Head coach Dennis Yurchevich was asked if the league has a mercy rule.
“Yes it does exist,” Yurchevich wrote in an email. “Football Alberta rules state that the mercy rule can only start if you are ahead by more than 35 points at the start of the third quarter.
“We were up 62-0 at the half. We sat our starting players for the second half and played our backups.
“At both the peewee and bantam levels, Olds football has been on the receiving end of that score numerous times over the last few seasons. We know how it feels, for sure.”
Yurchevich noted that was only Week 1 in the 2022 campaign.
“That trend won't continue for either team this season,” he wrote. “That was certainly a one-off.”
Yurchevich also said it's his understanding that the Chargers are a new entry in the league this season.
"I'm not sure how long that team has been together, but this was their first year in our league. All but nine of their players are first year players, including their quarterback," he wrote.