Baker Thompson and Keegan Surovy of the Monsignor McCoy Colts Sr. football team get their hands up to block a pass on defence in a 7-3 win Thursday night at the Methanex Bowl over the Brooks Buffaloes.--NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Before the first snap of their opening game, Monsignor McCoy Colts head coach Jole Krassman felt things were changing for his football program.
The Colts won the first game of their season Thursday night, beating the Brooks Buffaloes 7-3 at the Methanex Bowl, brining early confidence to a growing program.
The Colts had been held to one win in the previous two seasons, as they looked to return the red and white to success of the past. Krassman, with a hoarse voice after a back-and-forth win, says they’ve been preaching about wins such as this.
“We’ve been telling the kids, we have to build a legacy and it has to start right now,” Krassman said. “It can’t wait till tomorrow, we can’t wait for the next game, we just have to take it one day at a time and we did it. We overcame some adversity, big injury at the end of the game, but the boys rallied up and punched one in.”
The Colts trailed 3-0 heading into the fourth quarter and mounted a push for the end zone that gained momentum as the crowd grew louder and louder. The Methanex Bowl fell silent when senior lineman Wyatt Mullis went down with a leg injury that resulted in an ambulance being called for assistance.
Krassman says his team drew motivation from the injury and says Mullis will be missed on the line.
“To see the kids rise up, to rally, looking in their eyes when I came off the side, they went, ‘We got it coach,'” Krassman said. “You could tell fire was there in their eyes.”
While it’s a large positive for the group to open the year 1-0, Krassman says they aren’t looking to rest with winning the first game of the season. He says the 2024 Colts have numbers they haven’t had in years and talent at all positions they can utilize.
“We got a good group of seniors, we’ve got numbers and we’ve got diversity in positions,” Krassman said. “We’re not limited to our positions of just playing the guys where they are at. We made a few switches to our key positions and it’s really starting to come together.”
They’ll look to continue the success next Friday, Sept. 6, when they face the Crescent Heights Vikings in the fourth annual Rick Boksteyn Bowl, in memory of the former HS football coach and firefighter.
Crescent Heights has won the first three matchups, keeping the memorial firefighter trophy at their school. As the Colts look to take control of the trophy, Krassman says they’ll need to get back to work and keep the effort at a high level.
“That’s the biggest thing we’re asking the kids for is effort,” Krassman said. “We want to win obviously, we want to play tough, but the biggest thing is we want to play to our potential, just like Rick Boksteyn used to say, play to your potential, never give up.
“That’s what we did Thursday night.”
The Boksteyn Bowl kicks off Sept. 6 at 7 p.m.
