The Cochrane Cobras topped the ‘A’ division in the regular season and the Bow Valley Bobcats start their ‘B’ division playoffs Friday night in Rocky View Sports high school football.

The winless Bobcats are on the road Friday night for a rematch with the Chestermere Lakers under the lights of Utley Field. It follows a controversial meeting between the two earlier this month that saw the Bobcats forfeit the game with the game tied 7-7 late in the fourth quarter.

Both prepared Bobcat quarterbacks were injured in the game and, according to Bobcats co-head coach Cam Cote, they were forced to forfeit the game when Chestermere would not provide them enough time to prepare a third quarterback.

The game was tied 7-7 after the first half and the Bobcats were pressing most of the fourth quarter but were unable to find the end zone before their second quarterback went down.

The Lakers’ only win of the season resulted from the forfeit.

The Bobcats play their second playoff game on Saturday in Airdrie against the W. H. Croxford Cavaliers. The bottom three teams in the regular season make up the ‘B’ division. The Cavaliers beat both the Bobcats and Lakers in the regular season.

Cobras Limping into Playoffs

In the ‘A’ division, the Cochrane High Cobras were once again undefeated in Rocky View regular season play but are limping into the playoffs and upcoming provincials.

They finished their season with a 35-14 win over the Cavaliers last Saturday. The win gave them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. On Saturday, the Cobras take on the fourth place Bert Church Chargers. Game time is 12 noon at the SLS Legacy Sports Field.

The RVS ‘A’ division final takes place on Oct. 27. If the Cobras win this weekend they will host the divisional championship game. The Springbank Phoenix and George McDougall Mustangs are in the other semifinal matchup.

Injuries have plagued the Cobras and co-head coach Rob McNab hopes some of the players will be able to return to the roster soon, especially with provincials beginning Nov. 5.

“We have a lot of injuries, so we’re kind of hanging on right now,” says McNab. “We’re hoping to get some of these injured players back in the next two, three maybe four weeks, but we’re hanging on right now.

Dawson Laye, Dawson Gladue and Ethan Noble are among the list of starters out.

“Starting centre, starting tailback, starting slot, starting h-back and starting wideout; they’re all hurting.”

For the most part, they are aching injuries, says McNab, except for tailback Ethan Noble, who broke his fibula and required surgery.

Fortunately for the Cobras, their second string players see game time throughout the season. The Cobras have a habit of giving their starters the first half before they start subbing in their rising talent.

“Our philosophy is next man up and the kids have been doing a good job. You have to use your depth. It’s a good thing if you have it but in a small school you start to lose it quickly.”

Both Laye and Gladue suffered injuries in back-to-back plays in an exhibition match against the St. Francis Browns that saw Cobras 40 game winning streak record stalled.

In a last-minute game, the tier one Browns, currently ranked third in the province, came to Cochrane. The Cobras kept it close in the early goings but the Browns went on to win, 53-26.

“We hung in there for three quarters and we just ran out of steam. They wore us out. They were really big and powerful and kept running over us.”

The Cobras remain #1 in the tier 3 high school rankings. Potential provincial playoff rival Cardston Cougars are ranked third and Brooks Buffalos are fifth.