The regular season has wrapped, making playoffs top of mind for Airdrie’s high school basketball teams.
The final round of fixtures in the Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) took place Feb. 25 to 27, with several Airdrie teams seeing action. Playoffs for both the senior boys’ and girls’ divisions kicked off March 3 and runs until March 7.
“Of course, we look forward to the playoffs and work towards it all season long,” said Mike Sera, the head coach of the Bert Church Chargers senior boys’ team.
The Chargers finished the regular season with a 3-3 record and entered the RVSA playoffs as the division’s fourth seed.
Bert Church’s first playoff opponent was the Springbank Phoenix on March 3 (after press time). The winner will advance to the March 5 semi-final, for a spot in the championship game March 7, which gets underway at Springbank Community High School at 7 p.m.
Sera said the Chargers’ strength this season has been its transition, and the team will need to be at its best to put forward a strong playoff push.
“Our youth, at times, has shown, but we have definitely grown as a team and matured throughout the season,” he said. “We only have three Grade-12s this year, and they have done a great job trying to help the younger guys grow and mature.
“Hopefully we can continue that maturity process all the way and maybe upset a few teams along the way.”
On the girls’ side, the W.H. Croxford Cavaliers senior squad was the top-placing Airdrie team in the RVSA, entering the playoffs as the second seed with a 5-1 record. The Cavaliers capped off the regular season Feb. 27, overcoming the Chargers 61-48.
“Bert Church, they’re a good team and gave us a real run in the first half,” said Jamie Mulholland, Cavaliers head coach. “They have some solid size and a couple of really good guards, so they played well.
“Our ball movement got way better in the second half, and that was the difference-maker – and our press helped us.”
Mulholland added his players always enjoy overcoming a cross-city rival, which added to the excitement of the Feb. 27 win.
“I love watching the girls compete [against Bert Church and George McDougall] because they know the girls on the other teams, and they’re out there trying to win,” he said. “But there has also been some really good sportsmanship and it’s fun to see basketball growing in Airdrie.”
Croxford kicked off its playoff push March 3 (after press time) against the last-place Springbank Phoenix.
According to Mulholland, RVSA boasted several strong squads this year, with the unbeaten Bow Valley Bobcats the likely team-to-beat for the division banner.
“Bow Valley are a really strong team – very physical and well-coached,” he said. “They’ll be a tough team to beat. Chestermere, as well, has really come on recently. They had a lot of injuries early on, so they’re under-rated. And there’s Cochrane, too, so it should be a really strong playoff.”
In the junior varsity (JV) divisions, the Cochrane Cobras boys’ team ended the regular season unbeaten, with a 6-0 record, while Bert Church boasted similar dominance in the girls’ division. The JV playoffs run March 4 to 7.
For scores from the March 3 playoff fixtures, visit rvsa.rockyview.ab.ca
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
