Going in to last weekend the Innisfail Cyclones were undefeated and sat atop the Mountain View 9 Man Football League for the first time in their 11-year history.
The gridiron team coached by Trevor Wooff and Jim Brittain ran with a perfect record of five wins and no losses going into their last league game on the road against the Sundre Bison on Oct. 11. Playoffs will begin the week after Thanksgiving with the final league championship game running a week later.
“This is a banner season for the Cyclones,” said Wooff. “We secured first place with a 41 – 0 win against the Didsbury Dragons and even if we lose to Sundre, we cannot finish in second place.”
The coach noted the team is comprised of grade 10, 11 and 12 players with roughly half from grades 10 and 12, and only two Grade 11 athletes. The leadership from within the team is a strong reason why the team is in first place, said Wooff.
“Our Grade 12 guys are taking the younger players aside during games and practices and helping them develop into better players on field,” said Wooff. “During our Carstairs game, Ward Marshall asked to play defence to help spark the team when we were down. We won 25 - 12. That is the kind of mature leadership we have on our team and what we want to see happen.”
He said the Cyclones players all work together to win games, which shows itself in their record.
“We have a lot of positive things going for us,” said Wooff. “The Innisfail Minor Football Association bantam and peewee teams feed our program, which gives our team experience and allows me to work on our offence and defensive systems instead of focusing on teaching the basics. It makes us a better team right from the beginning of the season.”
Wooff noted his focus is not on individual players and the points they score but rather on what kind of leadership they provide on field.
“Our team has Ward Marshall who is a good athlete with skills whom I can put into any position on the field,” said Wooff. “He can play offence or defence, and in the Carstairs game he scored three touchdowns. Mischa Maree is one of those players who does not say much but he leads by example when he's on field. He is always there and usually involved in any tackle during a game.”
The coach pointed out Simon Bigger – the team's soccer player turned football punter-field goal kicker -- has been a big part of their team, kicking field goals and punting when called upon.
“He hurt his foot a couple of weeks back, and still managed to kick well,” commented Wooff. “I asked him how he kicked with a sore foot and he told me it must have been the adrenalin.”
With its perfect record after five games the team now has home field advantage for the first playoff game in Innisfail. The winner of the first game will play in an as-of-yet undetermined location.
