Hat High Mohawks football season comes to an end

The Medicine Hat High School Mohawks football team saw their season come to an end Saturday afternoon, with a 54-15 loss to the Foothills Composite Falcons in their provincial quarter-final match in Okotoks.

The game started out a close one, and the Mohawks trailed 25-15 going into the second half. After the break, the Mohawks had a tough third quarter that cost them the game, said head coach Quinn Skelton.

“Going into the half, it was a close game,” he said. “We came out for the third and made some mistakes, and every time we made a mistake, they capitalized on it. A team like Foothills, you can’t afford to turn the ball over or take a bad penalty. They made us pay for some mistakes in the third quarter and that out the game out of reach for us.”

After a win last week in Lethbridge that propelled the Mohawks to provincials, Skelton said he was hoping to play the underdog role Saturday in Okotoks. After Saturday’s game, he said he was happy with the effort he saw from his team.

“The boys played hard in some pretty tough conditions,” he said. “We did a lot of good things in that game. I thought our special teams was really good, but that third quarter really put it out of reach. Every game the boys battled this year. It’s always tough after a loss, but it was a good year for us and we lost to a good team.”

The Mohawks were able to capture their fourth straight Rangeland Football title earlier in the season, and Skelton says he has enjoyed coaching this year’s team.

“They’re a great group of guys with a lot of character,” he said. “We didn’t have any trouble makers or anything on this year’s team. Everyone was really committed, and active members of our school. It sucks for the Grade 12s to not be able to go all the way to the finals, but they had a good season, a good year. They should be happy with what they accomplished this season with the Mohawks.”