It’s unusual for a tier 3 match-up to be named “Game of the Week” by Football Alberta, but the upcoming game between the Cochrane Cobras and Chestermere Cowboys is destined to be a historical night.

Last Friday, the Cobras tied the record for consecutive wins in Alberta high school football with a 57-0 annihilation of the Bert Church Chargers and are now aiming for win #40 this Friday on the road in Chestermere.

By the time the second stringers were sent in after half-time, the Cobras already had a commanding 41-0 lead and continued to shut down the Chargers offense and pick apart their defense for the balance of the game.

“A lot of guys stepped up,” says co-head coach Rob McNab. “It was a good day for a lot of these kids.”

Despite the commanding lead, the Cobras coaching staff continue to push their younger players to improve their play; always keeping an eye on the future.

It’s this coaching and game preparation that has attributed to their ongoing success.

“We prepared well,” says McNab. “We watched all the film on them. Our kids are used to playing at a full speed— they're used to preparing to play at full speed. And, we have an outstanding coaching staff that I would it up against any coaching staff.”

The 39 consecutive wins of the Raymond Comets has stood as a record since 1999. It started in the 1997 season until they were defeated in the Tier I Provincial Final by Jasper Place in 1999.

This record for Cochrane will include all their regular season, exhibition and provincial playoffs since their last loss on October 25, 2014 to George McDougall and has included the last four Tier III Provincial Championships. It doesn’t include any of their exhibition games south of the border.

The closest any team has come since 1999 was Calgary’s Notre Dame, who got to 37 before losing to St. Francis in 2015.

While it is indeed a historical game ahead, it’s difficult to directly compare the records of the Raymond Comets and the Cobras.

With a student population of only 250, Raymond High School has made a tradition of competing against much larger high schools in athletics. Besides numerous provincial titles rugby and basketball, they have won seven tier one provincial football championships and in 2010-11 were ranked the #1 football team in Canada. They also won three tier 3 championships before making the jump to the top tier.

Still, the Cobras had some tough battles along the way against such teams as Okotoks, Cardston and Lloydminster’s Holy Rosary, whom they’ve met several times in the provincial championship game. 

Today, the Cochrane Cobras staff and support crew started discussing plans for Friday.

“Obviously we’re aware of it. It’s special. We’ve had some runaway games, but in-between we’ve also played some tough teams."

“We beat the number two ranked team in Canada (South Delta, B.C.) one year to keep this streak alive. We’ve played some top calibre teams to get that record.”

Friday game time is 7 p.m. at Utley Field in Chestermere.

Unlike any football field in Cochrane, Utley has ample seating and that’s good news because you can expect a packed house.