A step backwards in their championship run, but one giant leap forward for the Bengals.
The Big Rock Bengals saw their season come to an end when they were downed 15-5 by the Calgary Mavericks Thursday in the Calgary and Area Midget Football Association semifinals.
“All these kids can be proud of what they accomplished this year,” Bengals coach Bruce Marlow said.
In their fourth-year of existence, the Bengals went 5-1 in the regular season, their best record in history, before bowing out last week.
They proved they can earn their stripes in the league.
Turnovers stymied the Bengals offence.
“All year we have been the team that has taken away the ball from the other team,” Marlow said. “We were bound to get to a game where that wasn’t going to be the case.”
While the Bengals offence wasn’t firing on all cylinders, its trademark hard-hitting defence kept Big Rock in the game until the final two minutes when the Mavericks put the game away with a major.
“Our defensive line stood on its head all season long,” Marlow said. “Our defensive line with Jacob Kamajian, Spencer (Kessel) and Riley Gough stepped up on Thursday. I think they had one of their best games.”
But it wasn’t quite enough.
The Mavericks scored in the opening quarter after an interception. Calgary moved the ball down the field and ultimately scored on a short TD run.
The Bengals were able to sustain a drive near the end of the first quarter, but it was stopped when runningback David Bowers was stopped on a third-and-two at the Mavericks six-yard-line.
Big Rock finally got on the board thanks to the efforts of Mr. Reliable — Seth Nelson — strong right foot.
Nelson split the uprights from about 33 yards to cut the margin to 7-3. However, the Mavs would take an 8-3 lead into the half on a massive 63-yard punt that went into the end zone for the single point.
The Bengals defence came up big again in the second-half as it forced a snap over the Maverick QB Tyson Rowe to put Big Rock within a field goal late in the third quarter.
However, that would be all they could muster.
It not only put an end to a great year, it set things up for next season.
The Bengals lose a core of players who age out next season in Julian Jenkins, Nelson, Aiden McIsaac, Bowers and Tanner Francis.
“Those guys will leave a hole in our team,” Marlow said. “But when you get 90 per cent of the players back next year, it looks pretty good.”
Expected to return are Grade 10 standouts runningback Payton Burbank and receiver Keaton Neish from the Foothills Falcons and HTA’s Spencer Kessel.
Kessel went into Bengals camp hoping to play some quarterback and wound up on the defensive line.
“It was a lot of fun — I was on the team last year and we went 3-3,” Kessel said.
“The atmosphere this year was so much better. We will only get better.”
