NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Rylan Hodgson carries the ball with a Brooks Buffalo player holding on in the first quarter of the Colts consolation final game against Brooks High Friday night at the Methanex Bowl.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
James Tubb
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com
Twitter: ReporterTubb
The McCoy Colts won their final game of the season, beating the Brooks Buffalos 15-14 in the Rangeland Football Conference consolation finals.
Colts head coach Darrell Grass said his team didn’t play well in the first half, but showed up in the second.
“The guys played well, met the challenge in the second half and we’re pretty proud them,” Grass said.
Both teams weathered the pouring rain that remained at the Methanex Bowl for the entirety of the final game.
Brooks head coach Braedon Cameron said he expected the weather to be worse throughout the game.
“Moving the ball in the air was a little tough at times but they were dealing with the same stuff too,” Cameron said. “I don’t know if it interrupted too much of what we were trying to do, but that’s football.”
The Buffalos opened the scoring in the first quarter with a passing touchdown from quarterback Ryal Maxwell-Lyster to put them ahead 7-0. That was the only offence in the quarter, but the Buffalos doubled their lead in the second quarter with a rushing touchdown to put them ahead 14-0.
The Colts were about to end the second quarter with a field goal before the ball slipped away from the kicker. Thomas McCue, the McCoy ball holder, picked up the loose football and threw for the end zone to Logan Schlosser, who made the catch to bring the Colts within one score at the half.
McCoy mounted a drive with under five minutes left in the fourth quarter, stacking multiple runs as they made their way to the end zone. Rylan Hodgson was the final ball carrier as he rushed into the end to cap off the Colts drive and tie the game up at 14-14 with under three minutes in the quarter.
The Colts had another drive with less than two minutes in the quarter as they got closer and closer to the end zone until they were within field goal range. Brandon Smeed lined up for the kick with the message from Grass, ‘kick it hard.’ McCoy picked up one point on the missed field goal that didn’t exit the Buffalos end zone to win a tight consolation final, 15-14.
Cameron said it was a tough way to lose for his team on the last play of the game, but he was happy with how his players performed in their first season back since the COVID shutdowns.
Grass said his team grew over the year and got better every game.
“We’ve had so many victories, even in our losses,” Grass said. “You have to take that into account and the growth of the team was good. It’s getting used to winning and what it takes to win and these guys are learning.”
Senior Colts Colton Robinson and Xavier Bueckert both said they were happy to win the last game of the season and were proud of their team.
Robinson said he was happy beyond belief and it felt like a dream come true because he said he knew they could always get the win.
Bueckert, through tears, said it was nice to win with his teammates one last time.
“It feels so good to not go out with a loss and I’ve played with so many of these guys for six-plus years and just to win one last game with them feels so great,” he said.
RFC championship
The Hat High Hawks and Crescent Heights Vikings met in the RFC finals immediately after the Colts game. The score at the half of the championship game was 17-7 Hat High. For a more detailed story on the game visit medicinehatnews.com/sports.
