Falcons ground Spartans

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

There was no fluffer to start the season for the Strathmore High School football team.
Playing their first of two home games this season, the Spartans drew the powerhouse Foothills Composite High School Falcons in their Rangeland Football Conference opener.
The Falcons showed why they came in ranked No. 2 in the province and rolled the Spartans with a 34-8 victory Aug. 7 at the Strathmore High School field.
“Whenever you can hang with one of the top teams in the province, that’s a good sign. We had a bad second quarter but we outscored them in the second half. We will look to take those lessons with us into our game next week,” said Spartans Head Coach Travis Gorski, who returned to play calling after a year teaching in New Zealand.
The Falcons pounced on the Spartans by scoring early in the first quarter. The Spartans tried to answer, but ran into some issues with the snap count, which is a common occurrence for teams in their first game of the season.
Max Sims hiked the ball over second-year quarterback Noah Desjardins in Spartan territory and the Falcons recovered it on the 11-yard line. Thomas Cudd made them pay with a four-yard touchdown scamper. A successful two-point convert in the second quarter put the visitors up 14-0.
The following possession, it was Desjardins who was long snapper on third down in a punting scenario, when it was bobbled by Scott Dumur. The Falcons recovered on the four-yard line and punched in another score.
Later in the second quarter, the Spartans special teams gave up a 50-yard kick return by Noah Taborski that led to the Falcons third score of the frame, which made it 28-0.
The Spartans tried to strike before halftime when Nick Heaton hauled in the only interception of the game, but time ran out on a potential scoring drive.
The rest of the way, the Spartans held their own. They stopped turning the ball over and finally dialed up some long passes that were falling just past the fingertips of their receivers in the first half.
After the Falcons scored off an immaculate interception along the right sideline to make it 34-0, Dustin Thiessen recovered a lateral on the Falcons second down.
Desjardins spotted Kevin Agboro over the middle for a gain of 17 yards, setting up a goal-to-go scenario.
Rolling out to his right, Desjardins found Nathan Cayouette near the goal line, but it wasn’t until the senior quarterback fired a laser to Agboro from two yards out that the Spartans got their first score of the season.
“Not getting shut out and seeing success in the second half will instill confidence in this group and let them know that if they keep at it and keep working, that they will break through,” said Gorski.
Absent from the Spartans roster this year was their top playmaker from last season in Reid Jensen. Jensen transferred to George McDougall High School to play for the Mustangs.
The Spartans will be in Airdrie next week but will battle the other high school in the area, the W.X. Croxford Cavaliers, on Sept. 7.