Covy Moore/Rocky View Publishing

Lone George McDougall Mustang Receiver Trey Wylie tries to get his hands on a pass during his team's 38-7 loss to the Cochrane Cobras at Genesis Place, Sept. 29.

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George McDougall Mustangs downed by Cochrane Cobras

The George McDougall Mustangs dropped to 1-2 on the season after losing 7-38 to the Cochrane Cobras at Genesis Place football field, Sept. 29.

A combination flat start by the Mustangs and a strong start by the Cobras that left the Mustangs down 24-0 halfway through the game was too much for Airdrie to come back from despite a late touchdown by Phil Hallett.

“We knew that Cochrane comes out hard,” said Mustangs Head Coach Brent Legault. “Our throwing game was there and our offensive line did a great job. Our receivers had to push hard, but in the end, we just weren’t able to do it. We just couldn’t string together enough good things to make any positives out of it.”

Momentum came in spurts for the Mustangs, whether it was a botched field goal by the Cobras or a Mustang interception, Cochrane was quick to respond and kept George Mac from translating the momentum into points.

Part of the Cobras game plan was capitalizing on the Mustangs’ errors and it worked in the team’s favour, according to Cobras Head Coach, Rob McNab.

“(The Mustangs) did a good job,” he said. “Our defence once again played pretty tough. We plan for those plays that after a team makes a turnover or something, we go at them quick. I thought we did OK with that today.”

Injuries have been plaguing the Cobras all season, which has meant a younger roster and shuffled positions at times, but McNab was expecting many of his key receivers to be back in action against the Chestermere Cowboys, Oct. 4. He also expects the roster changes won’t affect the team’s game plan.

“I’m running out of depth,” he said. “Injuries have killed us this year, but the young guys are stepping up. We need to complete more passes. We like to pass the ball, and even with the younger kids in, we’re going to throw it. We going to try to get better that way.”

Coming off the loss to Cochrane, Legault hoped the team could draw inspiration from the late-game drive that led to the single touchdown by Hallett, because it came against some of Cochrane’s top players.

“They left their key guys in and we were playing against them when we got that drive,” he said. “Seeing that we can do that was a huge bonus against a defensively minded team like Cochrane.

“(Against Bert Church), a big part of it for us is playing four quarters of tough ball and not giving them an inch.”

The Airdrie Bowl was held Oct. 4 and the Cobras took on the Chestermere Cowboys on the same day, but results of both games were not available at press time.