In 1974 Cochrane High School, a charter member of the inaugural season of Rocky View Schools (RVS) football, claimed their first of many league championships.
A half-century later, the Cochrane Cobras returned to the mountaintop once again, reclaiming the crown of the Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) football championship with a thrilling 21-20 win over the George McDougall Mustangs on Saturday, October 26.
It was a matchup the fans of RVSA football had seen before. For the past two seasons, Airdrie’s George McDougall Mustangs have been the better team in the rivalry that has anchored Rocky View Football.
Last season the Mustangs went undefeated and finished as back-to-back league champions after they beat the Cobras 36-5 in the championship game.
In the highly anticipated rematch of last year's finale on Saturday, the Cobras, who hosted the championship game after defeating George McDougall during the regular season in a 9-6 defensive slugfest, trailed by a touchdown early in the first quarter of the 2024 Championship game.
A few long runs tilted the field in Cochrane’s favour and the Cobras bounced back ahead of the Mustangs. A touchdown and a converted onside kick put the ball right back in the hands of the Cobra offense, who led the Mustangs 15-13 at half time.
Defense was the star of the third quarter for both teams. Multiple possessions for both the Cobras and Mustangs ended in punts. At the end of the third frame, it was the Mustangs who outscored the Cobras, swinging the score back in their favour.
Just before the end of the third quarter, the Mustangs connected in the endzone for a 30-yard touchdown to put them ahead, but a failed two-point conversion left the score at 19-18 as the game entered its final quarter.
The defenses for both teams kept the opposing offenses stymied for most of the fourth quarter. Passes didn’t connect and runs fell short of first downs. Eventually, the Cobras were able to kick a go-ahead field goal to take the lead back with a couple of minutes left to play.
With the score at 21-19 in favour of the Cobras, and with barely any time left on the clock, the Mustangs took control of the ball and began their game-winning drive.
A quarterback run put the Mustangs on the edge of field goal range and with the dying seconds George McDougall trotted out their field goal unit to try for a game-winning kick. As the game clock hit zero, the Mustangs kicker sliced his kick, sending the ball to the right of the uprights, ending the game with a rouge.
For a football program the calibre of Cochrane High, two years without a championship is considered a long time. As the Cobra players stormed the field to celebrate, another chapter of the long and storied rivalry between Cochrane High and George McDougall, two of the best high school football programs in the greater Calgary area, came to a close.
