NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Monsignor McCoy Colts defensive lineman Reid Vossler celebrates after recovering an offensive fumble in the Colts' 23-12 win Saturday at the Methanex Bowl over the Cold Lake Royals.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Monsignor McCoy Colts senior football team got the final tune-up they needed before zone playoffs get underway.
The Colts captured a victory in the final game of the regular season, beating the Cold Lake Royals 23-12 on Saturday to finish the season with a 7-2 record.
Head coach Jole Krassman says the close contest was what they needed to experience before the hardest games of the season get underway.
“We were only leading by two points at half and then four points most of the game. If we don’t punch in that later touchdown and they’re driving on us, that could have been a different outcome,” Krassman said. “Real proud of the guys, they stepped up. We talked to the kids and said, ‘You’re going to bend and there’s going to be plays, but you don’t break. Take every play and you reload onto the next one, always flushing the last one away.'”
McCoy tallied two first-quarter touchdowns from Levi Dreger, who added a score in the fourth for the win. The second touchdown was setup by a fumble recovery from defensive lineman Reid Vossler on the Royals’ 20-yard line.
Before every game, Krassman challenges the team for a playmaker, looking for one to make the difference.
“Who’s going to be the playmaker, who’s going to be the hero? And we found a couple of them out there that made some huge plays,” Krassman said.
McCoy picked up two points on a conceded safety by the Royals’ punter in the third quarter.
The Colts 7-2 record keeps them at No. 9 in the Alberta Football 4A school rankings and No. 2 in the South Zone heading into the playoffs. Krassman says they’re proud of the turnaround this season and the success they’ve had, but he is more focused on how they’ll finish the year.
The push for a successful end starts Friday night at the Methanex Bowl when they host Chinook High School, the No. 3 team in the South. The Colts beat Chinook 31-13 on Oct. 10 but Krassman says they can’t overlook the Lethbridge team when things kick off Friday at 5 p.m.
“They took a bye week here this last week so they’re going to come in healthy and a little bit fresher, and they’re going to have a really good game plan,” Krassman said. “I anticipate a tough Chinook team, they’re going to come in and be ready to go, and this is playoff football. We want tough, tough, grinding games and we want to just see who’s going to prevail.”
