Last night was film night for the Cochrane Cobras football team as it starts preparations for the provincial championship game on Nov. 24 in Fort McMurray.

With their 21-6 win over the Brooks Buffalos on Nov. 17 the Cochrane Cobras have advanced to the final against the Holy Rosary Raiders, of Lloydminster, and are taking aim at setting another high school football record.

The Cobras could become the first Alberta high school football team to win five consecutive provincial championships. It comes in a year where they set another record for 40 consecutive wins in regular season and exhibition play, superseding one previously set by the storied tier 1 Raymond Comets.

The Cobras and Buffalos exchanged touchdowns in the first half. Penalties, an issue all year, gave the Buffalos a first down on the Cobras 10-yard line. They capitalized on the field position to score their only touchdown but they failed on their convert.

Adjustments at the half by offensive coach Rob McNab lead to a touchdown in the first series to take a 14-6 lead. The Cobras capped it off with a third major to put the game out of the reach of the Buffalos.

Cobras co-head coach and defensive coordinator Bruce O'Neil says the Cobras put in a solid performance.

"We just watched the film and were discussing how impressed we were with how well they executed the game plan."

Now he's hoping the Raiders will be the Buffalo Bills, who lost four consecutive Super Bowl contests in the 1990s. This is the fourth consecutive year the Cobras have faced the Raiders in the final.

That said with wry wit, O'Neill shows incredible respect for their opponents and doesn't for one minute sell them short.

"They're very hungry, very big, very well coached and very motivated," says O'Neill. I would say we are the underdogs. If you look at the two teams, you would say we are the underdogs."

He believes the Cobras, though, have benefited from playing two tough teams to advance. He believes Cardston and Brooks offered stiffer competition than teams faced by the Raiders.

"I know they weren't ranked higher than St. Albert, but in football knowledge, I know both teams were higher than St. Albert."

The Cobras leave Friday morning for Fort McMurray. It's the furthest north the Alberta Bowl Provincials Finals have been held. Four other provincial football championships will be held there the same weekend.

The Raiders defeated the St. Albert Skyhawks, 36-18, to advance from the north. 

The Cobras provincial title run started in 2014 with a win over the Whitecourt Cats. Holy Rosary became the tier 4 champions that same year with a win over the Willow Creek Cobras before moving up to tier 3 in 2015.