The Olds High School Spartans football team earned two more victories last week over the Chestermere High School Cowboys and the Brooks Composite High School Buffaloes.
The Spartans beat the Cowboys 27-0 on Oct. 1 at Normie Kwong Park and then travelled to Brooks on Oct. 4, where they beat the Buffaloes 49-7.
On Oct. 1, the Spartans had several players make key contributions, including Quade Smith, who kicked a field goal early in the first quarter and had a 40-yard run deep into Cowboys territory and had two other kicks result in points when the Cowboys couldn't get it out of their own end zone. His brother Tylen Smith also had a 70-yard run in the first quarter for a touchdown that was later converted. Greg Delong made a one-handed catch late in the game when a throw from quarterback Connor Jorgensen turned Delong sideways, before he caught the ball and ran it in to the end zone late in the fourth quarter. The touchdown was later converted to give the Spartans a 27-0 lead, which they protected for the final few minutes of the game.
Following the game on Oct. 1, Jorgensen said while the Spartans did well on the scoreboard, he would have liked to have seen the offence move the ball even more, have a more efficient snap, less offsides at the line of scrimmage and less penalties, but overall he was happy with the team's performance.
“Our running game is very good and as far as getting our passing game going, we have to (improve),” he said.
On the defensive side of the ball, Jorgensen said the team has performed well this year, limiting the opposition's chances and recovering the ball in good field position.
During the Oct. 4 contest in Brooks, George Grant, the Spartans' head coach, said the game was much closer than it appeared.
“The play was actually a little closer than what the score indicated. They are a good team and they've got some big bodies, some strong kids and we just had to execute well and that's something we did very well,” he said, adding that special teams returned two kicks for touchdowns.
The Spartans' defence forced two turnovers that also resulted in touchdowns against the Buffaloes.
Grant said the team played a much better all-around game on Oct. 4 than it had the previous couple of games.
“Nearly everybody was on the same page at the same time and so it gave us the opportunity to execute the plays that were sent in and the guys (worked hard) in that situation,” he said.
