Hard work and perseverance eventually pays off for those who play three years of football for the Foothills Falcons.

Bradey Lee leads the Falcons in a Haka after Foothills’ win in the Tier II provincial championship game in Edmonton on Nov. 20. photo by Bruce Campbell

“If you played three years with the Foothills Falcons in this decade you won a provincial championship,” said Falcons coach Kevin Klotz.

It took the seniors on this year’s Foothills team the full three years to get their championship, which came after the Falcons beat the Bishop McNally Tigers 35-0 Friday night in Edmonton.

It’s a gritty group that took its lumps. Previous Falcon championship teams racked up wins while playing in the Rocky View Football League. However, the past three years the Falcons played as an independent and were roughed up as an independent team playing the likes of powerful Raymond, Holy Trinity Academy, Lethbridge Collegiate Institute and others.

In 2007, the senior Falcons were destroyed by eventual Tier II champion Notre Dame from Calgary in the provincial semifinals. Last year, the Falcons were narrowly beaten by the Medicine Hat Mohawks in the quarterfinals.

The Grade 12 Falcons were keen on finally getting their banner.

Falcon quarterback Brad Karl didn’t want to leave school without a championship — especially since his brother Lance won two titles behind centre with the Falcons.

“This was a big deal — if we wouldn’t have won, we would have been the first seniors not to win provincials,” Karl said. “I e-mail my brother once a week and he gave me a lot of encouragement.”

(Lance is presently on a religious mission in the United States).

The victory is one he will share with his teammates forever.

“This is huge for us, a lot of us have played together since we were in Atoms or Peewees,” Karl said. “This was going to be the last game for us playing together. This means a lot for us. I knew at the start of the year we had a strong enough team to win provincials, but I didn’t think we could win by this much.”

Grade 12 running back Kyle Paterson said the hard times are behind him — it’s time to savour the title.

“Absolutely it was worth it,” Paterson said. “With the heart and the talent we had, I thought we could win it since the start of the season.”

Bradey Lee, an offensive and defensive tackle for the Falcons, said the third-year seniors had a talk before the final.

“Before the game, we were talking about how this is what it all comes down to,” said Lee. “We wanted to leave this season with something that we can stand for.”
After the game, Klotz recognized the Falcons who have played all three years for the Falcons. They are Ollie Thompson, Evan Chaulk, Cam Copland, Kyle Poulin, Paterson, Karl and Lee.

With a strong core returning next season, the next group of Falcon seniors is hoping for a repeat in 2010.

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