William E. Hay Wildcats of Stettler will look for their first win of the high football season when they host Hunting Hills this Thursday after losing their season opener last week.
The Wildcats fell 19-14 in Rocky Mountain House on Sept. 4 as the hometown Rebels scored a late touchdown to seal the victory in Central Alberta High School Football League action.
“We did not play to our potential,” said veteran head coach Norbert Baharally.
“It was a loss nobody expected and perhaps the coaching staff was overconfident.”
Trailing 13-0, the Wildcats took a 14-13 lead at halftime after Josh Meyer stomped into the end zone from about 16 yards and Landon Potter rambled in on a reverse from about 14 yards.
After missing the one-point convert on the first Wildcat touchdown, Jared Steinwand scored a two-point convert on the second major.
Both teams had early-season jitters, making several costly mistakes.
“The game could have gone either way,” said coach Baharally.
“Our guys were very nervous with a lot of young players.”
“I put a lot of confidence in our offence, gambling on third down, but we didn’t get it done,”
“The last one cost us the game,” said coach Baharally.
Just across midfield late in the game, the Wildcats fell short on third down and two yards.
On the very next play, Rocky Mountain House rumbled 52 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
With their next game this Thursday, the Wildcats will have a lot of homework to do to eliminate the mistakes.
“We’ve got a lot to cover and a lot to correct,
The Wildcats host Hunting Hills on Sept. 10 at 4:30 p.m.