Last week, the Lacombe Composite High School Rams fought hard in their season opener against the Notre Dame Cougars kicking off the season with a loss on their shoulders but a goal in mind.
The team’s offence pulled together to play a strong second half but the Cougars were able to secure a win with a score of 23-14.
“I think everything we wanted to do, we did in the second half,” said Rams Head Coach Riley Quance. “In the first half, we made a couple of mental mistakes and the offence was a little bit slow warming up. In the second half, the defence kept the ball in front of them, and we outscored (the Cougars).”
Lots of action on both the defensive and the offensive sides for the Cougars is what helped them pull ahead in the first half. By the second quarter, they led the game with a 13-0 point lead.
Heading into the third quarter, the Rams seemed to gain a little confidence and take their offensive game to the next level, securing a few interceptions and a touchdown.
Quance said that this year, the team is taking a two-unit approach to avoid fatiguing players and helping them to hone their skills in their specific positions.
He said that by training the team with set players on both the offensive and defensive side, the team is hoping to combat fatigue and allow each member to make the most of their time on the field.
In the second half of the game, the Rams defence took on a new strength and was able to prevent the Cougars from several touchdown opportunities.
“I think what happens is in the first half, you’re feeling out the other team and trying to find out where the weaknesses are and what you can exploit,” said Quance.
“What we did was capitalize on some of the things we saw with the slow zone that we were able to exploit them on.
“We used some of our low-pass game to open up the stuff over top and we were able to move the field.”
The Cougars were kept on their toes near their five-yard line with pressure from the Rams’ offence driving their opponents towards the end zone.
During a close last quarter, the Rams were able to gain another touchdown, but did not secure a win. Quance explained that the team will use this loss to drive their goals forward moving into the season.
“As the season goes on, we’re going to remember that the championship isn’t won in the first week. We’re going to be playing our best ball by our sixth game, which is seven weeks away,” he said.
The next Rams game will take place at ME Global facing the Hunting Hills Lighting at 7 p.m. tonight.