Royal advance to Provincial Semi-finals

The Cold Lake High School Royals football club have advanced to the B-side Provincial semi-finals, with a 38-0 win over Sexsmith. The club will head to Lacombe for a 7:30 pm game on Friday evening against Stettler Wildcats. The winner will advance to the Provincial Championships.

Head Coach, of the Royals, Kelly Johnson, says it feel great to be back at the provincial showdowns, “it’s been three years since we’ve been back in the dance for the Provincials. The boys are ready!” The club has been seeing a lot of success late in the season, says the coach, “our running game came alive, two weeks ago, against Wainwright, so we’re hoping to keep that established.

Player, Nathan Roberts says the team was in sync for the game against Sexsmith, “the key thing is, everyone kept the momentum going. No one said, ‘hey, we’re winning’ and sat down. Everyone kept the effort high. Everyone was excited that we were playing really good and we put points on the board, like we were supposed to and the defense played really well.”

Heading into games, teams will trade film to help prepare the club for the match up. “The biggest thing for us is the mental errors,” Coach Johnson said going into last weekend’s game against Sexsmith it was a matter of keeping the team focused and mentality prepared, “don’t worry about the cold. Stay focused on every single play in front of you. Don’t focus on anything but the play ahead of you.”

With the team on the road for the remainder of the season, Nathan Roberts, says the club has said good bye to Soholt field for the season, “it’s pretty sad, but I’m happy I got to end my season with a win on Soholt Field.” Roberts will say goodbye to the team at the end of their playoff run, something the young player says will be tough, “we’re all pretty close. This team is like my brothers. We all have each other’s backs, we’re all together. That’s what makes a good team.”

The team will head to Lacombe this Friday, to take on the Stettler Wildcats at 7:30 pm.