The Columbia Valley Bighorns took to the field in Invermere against one of the best teams from Calgary in what would be a game that would be close from the start to the end.
The Bighorns faced off against the Calgary Wildcats and things started off well when the home squad scored early in the first quarter to take a six-to-nothing lead. The extra point was blocked by the Wildcats who marched back down field and got a field goal that struck the bar but went through to make the game 6-3.
The Bighorns increased their lead after a punt went off the hands of the returner in the end zone to make it a 7-3 game.
The second quarter was where the Wildcats started to show why they are a top-ranked squad.
The visitors rallied to score a touchdown and field goal in the second quarter and on the first play from scrimmage in the third got a huge boost after a 40-yard touchdown took the lead to 20-7.
The Bighorns came back to score a touchdown and then got the two-point conversion to bring the game back to within one scoring play.
After another field goal for the Wildcats the Bighorns scored a touchdown with 1:45 left in the fourth. The home team was only 2 points down until the Wildcats marched down the field for another touchdown that put the game out of reach.
This made the game 30-21 but the Bighorns did not quit and on the last play of the game they scored their last touchdown of the day. After converting the extra point the game was over with a final score of 30-28 for the Wildcats.
After the game ended Bighorns Head Coach Bruce Marlow expressed how proud he was of the team
“Our guys played their guts out. Everybody worked very hard, everybody was in position.We got beat by a team that is one of the top all-star teams in Calgary. Our guys played up to where we expected them to all day long,” Marlow said.
Marlow also announced the team was going to show support for a couple of past Bighorn players who have gone on to a post-secondary education.
The team decided that they would give a $500 scholarship to both Travis Kerslake and Darnell Hopkins to help with their post-secondary schooling.
Kerslake, who has been attending the University of Alberta Augustana Campus, was on-hand at the game and was described as a trooper by Marlow.
“This means quite a bit to me. Everything is very expensive nowadays. I can always use the money to help out at school,” Kerslake said.
As for the current Bighorn players, they will be travelling to Calgary for a road game before returning to Invermere for their next home contest on May 7.