The Cochrane Bantam Lions football team is off to a good start, going undefeated in their first two games.

Both were close contests. They beat the Mavericks,16-14, in their opening game, then the Hilltoppers,16-8, in Week Two.

"The boys played really hard, and for us having a short start to the season, we came out really strong," says 
offensive coordinator Brent Boynton.

Up next is a matchup against the Rebels on Sept. 7.

After that, they anticipate a pair of tough games against the Calgary Cowboys and Airdrie Raiders, considered to be frontrunners in early season predictions.

"It will be a couple of tough ones," says Boynton. "Airdrie has really become quite the dominate area in football lately." 

The Lions have a full roster and then some this season.

"The beauty is, no matter the size or athletic ability, there's somewhere for everybody in football. Actually, we have more kids this year than we're allowed to field, so we've got some development players in with us this year as well. As we get through into next year, hopefully, they'll become the next round of starters."

Some of the developer players may also slide into the roster when the Lions are short.

While some communities have seen a drop in numbers, and others are still shaking off the ill effects of COVID-19, football remains strong in Cochrane.

"We have great high school programs, and then the atoms, the peewees, and the bantams feed well into the other. There's a really good core of kids that we've literally watched grow up together. This year, the bantam team is the group we've watched for the last five or six years. Now they're all just a lot bigger and stronger than when they started."

The bantams typically practice three days a week with one weekly game, normally on Saturday at Shouldice Park in Calgary.

The Peewee Lions are also two games into their season with a pair of losses to the Rebels and Eagles. They have this weekend off and return to the field against the Storm on Sept. 11.