OLDS — The École Olds High School Spartans football team prepared to host Canmore today after a humbling experience hosting Lethbridge’s Winston Churchill High School Bulldogs Oct. 14.
The Bulldogs got off to a quick start late that Friday afternoon, putting up 16 points in the first half.
The Spartans recovered in the second half, getting a couple of converted touchdowns. However, Churchill rumbled back with some offence of its own to win 43-14.
As a result, the Spartans’ record sits at 3-2.
“We knew we were in for a difficult game,” Spartans head coach Kent Lorenz wrote in an email. “Lethbridge definitely had better execution and intensity in all three phases of the game.”
He pointed out that the Bulldogs play in an “extremely competitive” southern Alberta league. That’s made a difference in their experience and approach.
As such, Lorenz called the Oct. 14 game a “great learning experience for the Spartans.”
“In order for our players to improve, (they) need to be challenged and learn from the experience,” he wrote.
Lorenz said that was proven by their success in the second half of Friday’s game.
“Once our players matched the intensity of the other team, we were pretty evenly matched,” he wrote.
“As a coaching staff, we will continue to work on skill development to help clean up mistakes and help avoid turning over the ball.”
Kickoff against Canmore is at 12 noon Saturday at Normie Kwong Park.
