Lightning 42, Comets 14
The Hunting Hills Lightning ran over the Robert Thirsk Comets Saturday.
Running backs Dolan Hills and Joe Hunt combined for more than 300 yards rushing as the Lightning cruised past the Comets 42-14 at Great Chief Park.
It was the fourth straight season the Lightning advanced beyond the Alberta Schools Athletic Association Tier II quarterfinal.
“We’re excited, this is our fourth straight provincial semifinal. To my knowledge, no other school in Central Alberta, at any Tier, has done that. We’re excited. We want to finally break through,” said Lightning head coach Kyle Sedgwick.
Hunting Hills exploded out of the gates in the contest Saturday, sacking Comets quarterback Austin Sladek on the opening play of the game. On the second play, the Lightning recovered a fumble.
Quarterback Haidan Brown eventually found the end zone from the one-yard to push the Lightning ahead 7-0.
On the Comets next possession, Nathan Fuerbringer intercepted Sladek and returned it for a touchdown.
The lead lasted almost the entire first half, until the Comets struck furious late in the second quarter.
First, Ope Oshinube busted a 95-yard touchdown run with under two minutes to play in the half.
Then, with 30 seconds remaining, Sladek hit Gage Robertson on a 55-yard score to tie the game.
I thought we came out really strong and we got up two scores. (Then) we lost emotion,” Sedgwick said.
“It’s the provincial quarterfinal, you have a chance to be in the final four of the province. They’re a big play offence … all of a sudden it’s 14-14. I went in at halftime and expressed my feelings.
“Just let them understand that team has Grade 12s just like we do. They don’t want this to be the end of their high school career. It’s a provincial game. “
From that point forward, it was all Lightning.
Their running game took over and scored four times in the second half. Brown ran in two touchdowns, Hill scored on a 10-yard run and Zac Sanderson punched one in late in the game.
Sedgwick gave a lot of credit to his offensive line that helped control the line of scrimmage in the win.
“We came out and I thought we controlled the second half quite well. We made plays,” Sedgwick said.
“Those two scores, we had guys in position, we knew what they were doing, we just didn’t make plays. In the second half we did and we showed the team we could be. I hope our guys grow from this.”
The Lightning will hit the road next Saturday for their playoff game.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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