Raiders 20 Cougars 19
Early in the Central Alberta High School Football League season if the Lindsay Thurber Raiders fell behind by 14 points at any time in the game they could forget about coming back.
That’s no longer the case.
The Raiders fell behind 17-3 early in the second quarter, before storming back to pull out a 20-19 victory over the Notre Dame Cougars Friday at Great Chief Park.
The Raiders, led by a solid ground game and the leadership of quarterback Wilson Lougheed, put together a six play 50 yard march late in the fourth quarter to pull out the victory.
Greg Fowler scored on a six-yard sweep around left end, one play after a five-year penalty moved the ball back from the one.
“Once Greg got outside he has the speed to beat anyone,” said Lougheed, who set up the score with a perfect pass to Colby Spearing on the one.
“We wanted to throw the boot leg instead of just going up the middle,” added Lougheed. “Last week we tried the middle (against Lacombe) and were stopped.”
Fowler and fullback Elliot Mahood played a major role in the Raiders victory, but head coach Dave Smith was equally as impressed with his offensive line.
“Moving Greg into the backfield last week gave us a spark and that continued this week, but the other reason for our success is the offensive line. They blocked well and have figured it out since the beginning of the season. But really they’re very young and it’s taken some time to fit together.”
The Raiders are also beginning to believe in themselves.
“Last week against Lacombe we came back and almost won, but we showed we can score,” said Lougheed.
“The guys are figuring it out and confidence is a huge part of it,” added Smith. “We showed last week we could come back and Wilson did a great job of leading the offence this week. As well our defence picked it up when they had to and shut the door in the second half.”
The only points the Cougars managed in the second half came on a safety at 5:34 of the fourth quarter.
The turning point in the game may have come on the Cougars possession following the safety. They received the kickoff and took a 10-yard penalty on the play leaving the ball on their 30. An incomplete pass, a holding call and another incomplete pass gave the ball back to the Raiders, who put together the winning march.
“We took too many penalties and that one late in the fourth quarter really hurt,” said Cougars head coach Gino Castellan, who suffered at least one more major injury to outstanding receiver Jordan Briault.
“We lost a few more starters, that’s the way this whole season has gone,” he said. “It’s the worst year in my 21 years of coaching. It seems we’ve had a lot of bad luck, but that’s the way it goes at times.”
The Cougars played a solid first half, but their defence seemed to wear down in the final 24 minutes.
“Really it was a disappointing loss . . . I don’t think we should have lost it,” said Castellan.
Losing to one of their cross-town rivals made it even worse.
“I love playing Thurber and I believe they love playing us. It’s good for the fans, although it’s tough for the coaches,” he said.
“It’s a huge win coming against our rivals,” said Lougheed. “I know all the guys were pumped for this one.”
Briault, on a 27-yard pass from quarterback Kieran Pruden, opened the scoring for the Cougars at 2:23 of the first quarter. Dario Viveros added the convert and an 23-yard field goal at 5:13. Vuyani Ndhlovu kicked a 30-yard field goal for the Raiders at 8:14 with Kieran Mill scoring on a one-yard run for Notre Dame just 14 seconds into the second quarter. Viveros converted.
Lougheed scored and Ndhlovu added the convert at 6:16 and the Cougars held a 17-10 lead at the half. Ndhlovu added an 11-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Fowler led both teams with 115 yards rushing on 19 carries while Mahood had 63 on eight tries. Mill ran for 104 yards on 15 carries and Viveros 102 on 11.
The win gave the Raiders a 2-3 record while the Cougars dropped to 3-2.
The Raiders host Rocky Mountain House next Friday at 7 p.m. while Notre Dame visits Stettler on Thursday at 4 p.m.
drode@www.reddeeradvocate.com