A weekend of hurt and losses for Pincher Creek's Mustangs

Bantam Mustangs #6 Jordan Hochstein runs with it on Saturday against Cardston Cougars
T. Lucas photo

Pincher Creek's Peewee, Bantam, and Senior Mustangs had a disappointing weekend, with enough hurt and loss to fill a George Jones album. 

• Peewee Mustangs participate in Lethbridge Jamboree
• Cardston Cougars defeat Bantam Mustangs
• Claresholm Cobras blank Senior Mustangs

Peewee Mustangs participate in Lethbridge Jamboree

Coach Tom Holoboff, Contributor

Well sports fans, our local heroes were on the field on Saturday, this week taking the Peewee Mustangs to Lethbridge to the Jamboree. Once again Lethbridge does a great job hosting the Jamboree. The fields would be the envy of any CFL team (ok yes they all play on artificial turf, but would they??????????). It was a perfect day for football.

The first game saw the Mustangs square off against the Lethbridge Coyotes. The Mustangs moved the ball effectively down the field mixing run right with Jarret Jet Plante, left with Mathew The Giant Bruder, and up the middle with Cutter Lance Paleo and Ty Real Deal Anderson. Richie The Hammer Lagrandeur managed to establish a pass game to Grace Hands Kirkness for some nice gains. The opening drive stalling on the 3 yard line, Cutter Lance just falling short of the elusive endzone. On Defence the Coyotes soon abandoned the outside run with Giant Mathew Bruder and Caleb Cat Man Jones making huge stops. The only real success the Coyotes seemed to have on offense was the long pass catching the Mustang DB's flat footed. The Mustangs offense was able to move the ball through out the game but consistently came up short of the hallowed ground. In the end the familiar score of Coyotes 2 Mustangs 0, in a well played game by both teams.

The second Game saw our local heroes take on the Lethbridge Jr. Cougars. The Cougars were a good test for the Mustangs. The Mustangs again found success on offense using the strong arm of Richie The Hammer Lagrandeur finding Grace hands Kirkness on the right and Isaac Spiderman Webb on the left for nice gains. With Jarret Jet downed with an elbow injury Spiderman Webb had to move to 4 back and Gunner Trent Metcalfe splitting time with Tenacious Tegan Teneycke at tight end. Bullet Brody Walter had another tough lesson at quarterback doing a perfect head stand scrambling after a errored snap. Ty the real deal Anderson had some nice runs up the middle as did Cutter Lance. On defence the hard hitting of Tenacious Tegan, Grace Hands Kirkness, Richie The Hammer Lagrandeur kept the run game in check. Again the defence was beat on long passes and a long run to the outside. The end score was Cougars 3 mustangs 0, but the score did not reflect the even play between the 2 teams.

The 3rd game saw the mustangs play their toughest competition this year as the Lethbridge Rams stepped on the field. The rams defense was like a dog chasing the ball, 2 or 3 players in constant pursuit where ever the ball went. Only Cutter Lance and real Deal Anderson managed to gain much yardage. On defense the Mustangs were able to see some definite improvements. The defensive line of Gus the meat Halibert and Tyson the man Teneycke on tackle and Nailer Nelz Vance and Ty The Real Deal Anderson on ends, put constant pressure on the quarterback and dropping the running backs for losses. I think the proudest I have ever been on the field was watching Tyson The Man Teneycke pull up on a much smaller running back and gently bring the player to the ground, to often the bigger player will take advantage of the smaller player, but that is not the Mustang way, great job by The Man. 

Quinn The Silencer Parker, Justin The Equalizer Nelson, and Gunner Trent Metcalfe all did a great job filling in at outside linebacker and on the line. Evan Hitman Malhi showed size doesn't matter by bringing down a much larger Ram player after he made the catch over top of him (and I mean a much larger lineman type). On offense the laugh of the game came from Curtis Ironman Giesbrecht who in the huddle ask us to run the Statue of Liberty play. So after executing a perfect fake hand off Richie The Hitman looked to where Ironman should have been standing (statue) only to learn that Ironman had forgotten the play and run his usual streak. If only I had a camera to show the look on Lagrandeur's face when no one was there, still laughing over that one. Near the end of the game the Rams were on the 5 yard line and ran the ball up the middle. Two blockers came out to face Gus The Meat Halibert, both ended on the ground, all three had huge smiles on their faces after the great competition (oh and Cutter Lance stuffed the run).  The end of the game showed the usual score of Rams 2 mustangs 0 touchdowns, the play of both teams seemed fairly even.

At the end of the day, all of the Mustang players made me so proud. The sportsmanship I spoke of from Tyson Teneycke is displayed by all the players on the Mustang team. So often I see the stronger players on the Mustangs' roster pull up a little when they see a smaller player facing them. They make the play without taking advantage of the mismatch. It is great when the opposing coaches say how much they enjoy the sportsmanship and fair play demonstrated by the Mustang players. A job well done by the parents of these fine young men and ladies. 

Next week the local hero's venture to Cochrane to face the Rage. Until then this is Coach Tom reminding everyone that everyday is a great day for football.

Cardston Cougars defeat Bantam Mustangs

Bantam Mustangs vs Cardston Cougars
T. Lucas photo

Pincher Creek's Bantam Mustangs hosted Cardston's Cougars on Saturday September 21 at Matthew Halton field.  The Cougars maintained an ever growing lead throughout the game, winning it 56-6.  The effectiveness of the Cougars' passing plays was one of the deciding factors, as was the number of players the Mustangs had to work with.  They started off as the smaller team and injuries during the game diminished their numbers even more.

Unexpected player goes for a long pass at Mustangs vs Cougars game
T. Lucas photo

"We did score a touchdown, Tyler Riviere punched it in," said Mustangs Coach Travis Liscombe after the game.

"Last week, we had a pretty lopsided victory for us.  I think it was 58 - 13 for us.  This week, it went the other way."  he said the Mustangs coaches emphasized that it is a game.   "We told the boys let's go have some fun, let's play football, and if nobody's having fun, then we've got a problem."

"There were a number of injuries during the game.  With such a short roster players were subbing into positions that they were not as familiar with."  The Bantam team has seven new players on the roster.  "We call it Pincher Creek Iron Man Football," laughed Liscombe ruefully.  "What's neat about it is everybody gets to know the offense.  From each linesman's position, up to our slotbacks, up to our  fullbacks."

"Injuries started to come into play.  Then some of the guys that we were substituting in didn't know some of their defensive responsibilities.  Cardston took advantage of that, which they are supposed to do."

"We need better pass coverage and defense," said Liscombe.

"It truly is a community football program, starting with PeeWee, moving to Bantam, moving to the High School.   Everybody kind of gets the flow of it, all the way through."

"We have a good core group, but Cardston came out and they played really well."

After a tough loss you might as well dance!  Austin Bruder with Halton's Hawk
T. Lucas photo

This was the third game of the season for the Bantam Mustangs, who now have one win and two losses.  They have a home game scheduled vs Lethbridge's  Coyotes on Saturday September 28 at Matthew Halton field, game time for that one is 10:00 am.

Claresholm Cobras blank Senior Mustangs

Coach Wayne Alexander, Contributor

Our Mustang football team went into Claresholm last Fríday and lost 54-0 to the home town Cobras. The Mustangs started off quite well and moved the ball well in the opening quarter. The first quarter ended with the Mustangs trailing 7-0. The second quarter was a different story as the Mustangs had difficulty moving the ball offensively while the Cobras capitalized at will running the ball up the middle and bouncing outside. The halftime score was 34-0 for the Cobras, who are ranked as the 4th best Tier 4 team in the Province. Just before the half, Mustang quarterback Kyle Knowlton connected with Jean Maritz for a 37 yard gain and put the Mustangs in a good position to put some points on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, Maritz was injured on the play and when the game resumed the Cobras were able to pick off a pass and stop the drive. 

Although the final score was 54-0, the Mustangs showed a lot of character and never quit until the final whistle. There were a number of bright spots offensively, particularly through the air. Mustang, Justin Albert, had an outstanding game at safety and was clearly the best defensive player on the field for both teams. Defensive lineman, Bailey McDougall also was a standout on the field. 

Next scheduled game for the Senior Mustangs is this Thursday September 26 starting at 7:00 pm against Coaldale at the University of Lethbridge field.

Allison Malhi sports the latest in Mustangs style at Bantam game
T. Lucas photo