Cochrane Players Make a Huge Contribution to Raiders

While Cochrane no longer has a midget football team, players from here continue to have an impact on the Calgary Spring Football league (CSFA).

A growing number of Cochrane players have found a home with the Airdrie Raiders and made a significant contribution towards their recent Division 2 championship title.

The Raiders unseated their arch-rival Mavericks team with a 28-26 victory that broke the "Maverick Curse."

Cochrane area players on the team were Dominic Mills, Ben Oliver, Ty Metcalfe, Sean Clazie, Cameron Servant, Ben Dobson, Jackson Streeter, Merek Coltman and Jacob Mate.

Twelve-year Raiders coach Steve Kemp says a growing number of Cochrane players have found a home with the Raiders since the collapse of the Cochrane Lions midget team a few years ago and several of them had starting positions for the 2019 campaign.

"They all have that Cochrane pedigree, that winning attitude and that really help our guys," says Kemp.

Mate, a St. Timothy High School student, excelled with the Lions bantam team and joined the Raiders last season. He became a starter this year and went on to be named a defensive CSFA all-star.

Kemp says he's hoping Cochrane players will continue to be interested in playing for the Raiders. Cochrane is part of the team's recruiting territory.

"We're hoping to keep that relationship going," he says. "It was an area we really wanted to target. The guys that came out were great kids, great teammates, great leaders and I hope they had a bunch of fun and learn something along the way because that was the thing we promised them."

The Raiders have a strong buy-in by players and coaches from all three Airdrie high schools. That's a positive thing for the sport as a whole in the city.

"It's improving the quality of football in Airdrie," he says, "All three high school head coaches are on the team because we want to get better and we want to compete."

Kemp says the Raiders coaching staff often jokes about the Maverick Curse that seemed to be born in the 2014 city final when the Mavericks came from behind to win. The Raiders hadn't beaten them since.

"Since that point, we've had really tight games but they seem to sneak by us all the time. They're really entertaining games and there's never been a total game between us but they're a really well-coached team. It has been quite some time since we beat them so it's nice to get that monkey off our back."

The Raiders took an early lead but the Mavericks came on the field fired up for the third quarter to attempt another comeback win.

"There was a little bit of concern and a little bit of a flashback of before, but I thought our coaching staff and our players did a good job of settling everything down and sticking to our game plan and staying within what we do best."

A late field goal block by the Raiders saved the day.

Defensive back Ben Dobson, who also plays for Cochrane Cobras high school team, says he enjoyed the experience and would consider returning to Raiders next season.

"It was a good team," says Dobson. "It was a good group of people and a fun season."

"There has always been a rivalry between the Mavericks and the Raiders and it was good that we finally came out on top."

Besides Airdrie and Cochrane players, the team also attracted players from as far away as Hanna and Drumheller, says Kemp.

The league continues to be an important showcase for players hoping to see action at the post-secondary level or simply love the game. Kemp says the final was heavily scouted by several universities, including the Dinos, Golden Bears, Calgary Colts, Queens, St. Mary's and Ottawa.

The Cochrane Lions folded in February 2016 after years of battling a dwindling roster.