It's hard to believe the South high school all-star team only had three days of practice under their belt before hitting the field for the 33rd Senior Bowl on Jan. 7 inside the Encana Dome at Shouldice Park in Calgary.

The South scored a major on their opening drive, then surprising the North by recovering an onside kick on the very next play to set the tone for the lopsided 32-2 win.

The South had 272 yards on offense, capitalizing on both rushing and passing to secure 20 first downs, four touchdowns, a field goal and a safety.

The North was limited to one safety late in the second and generated a total of 172 yards of offense. The South held them to one yard in rushing, and just eight first downs.

Six Cochrane Cobra players and two coaches played a huge role in the win.

Special teams coordinator D. J. Whetton, of the Cobras, says it was a total team win.

"I honestly believe that that win was a whole team win. I think we had a lot of standout players. Cochrane did a tremendous job of representing, but I think in that particular game, the deciding factor was that we had a team that played exactly like a team. Every running back had a great game. Every receiver made a catch. It was weird, you know, because sometimes in these situations you're just trying to scramble the team together at the last minute."

All facets of the game were well executed by the South, including the play of special teams.

"I'm definitely a risk taker and I think that special teams are a humongous part of football that often gets, especially at the lower levels, maybe neglected or overlooked," says Whetton, who also played in the Senior Bowl in 2009.

"You know, it's a difference between your having to defend a short field like a 30-yard field, or your defense having to defend an 80-yard field. If you're forcing a team to march down 100 yards versus 30 yards, you know your success rate goes up exponentially."

Linebacker/punter Stanleigh Stone was among the Cobras standouts on special teams. With a strong rugby background, he incorporated a running punt style, netting 158 yards on five kicks. He was also involved in five tackles. Whetton incorporated Stone's rugby knowledge and athleticism into the game plan.

"I had a rugby player there, so why not play some rugby? Why not add another layer to our special teams for our opponent to deal with? I think he made the majority of our special teams tackles and a lot of those were after he punted the ball. It's just unique to have a punter that has the ability to not only punt the ball in a way that he can and be down there to make the tackle, but also punt on the run, and pitch off the run. Having a weapon like that is a blessing for a special teams coordinator."

He believes Stone is arguably one of the best high school football players in Alberta right now, despite having played the sport for only two seasons.

Defensive back Bodie Van de Kraats lead the South in tackles and made an important interception deep in their own zone. Hudson Hallden and Jesse Groot also racked up the tackles.

On offense, 6'3", 230 lb. running back Tate Larsen was used extensively to punch the ball through the North defence on short plays. He had eight important yards on four carries.

Mark Schroder, of the Springbank Phoenix, was top receiver, scoring two touchdowns and netting 56 yards on five carries.

Tyrell Hofland, of the George McDougall Mustangs had two punt returns, including an important 51 gain, and a 13-yard return on the North's lone kickoff.

Whetton, who played for the South in the 2009 Senior Bowl, says there's more to the game than raising the cup.

"I got to play with a lot of great guys and got to meet a lot of cool people," says Whetton.  "The great thing about Senior Bowl is beyond the win. It's very much an experience for these young men and a chance to be seen maybe in a way that they weren't seen before at the beginning of the season. I know that if it wasn't for a Senior Bowl, I probably would have never had an opportunity to play for the Dinos."

"I think that more so than the win, what you're trying to do is help these players get one last highlight reel on their career, and have it seen by as many coaches as possible to help extend their football career as much as we can."

The Senior Bowl Cup has been renamed the Arnie Enger Cup. He passed away in December and was the public address announcer at the Senior Bowl for the first 25 years.

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