By Robb Fenton
It was a perfect way to end a perfect season.
The Lloydminster King’s Husky Red Dogs capped off their fantastic season with a Tier-2 championship, Tuesday night in Edmonton shutting out the Edmonton Seahawks 28-0 at the Johnny Bright Bowl.
“It was really nice. The guys worked hard for the whole year and they definitely desereved it,” Red Dogs co-coach and offensive coordinator Rod Kirby said. “They came in really focussed for that game and ready to play football. We took it to them right from the start of the game.”
The Red Dogs relied on a combination of strong defence and opportunistic offence.
Both complement each other and made the Red Dogs dangerous on both sides of the ball.
“We just have some really good football players on the team. They also remember last year, especially the first few games, they took a bit of a licking and they bounced back at the end. We went into this year knowing we could compete with these guys and beat them,” Kirby said. “That was the biggest part. I think the confidence level was there right from the beginning.”
The experience the team gained in 2009 went a long way this season for the Red Dogs.
The team took a few lumps breaking into the season, but definitely learned and bounced back and capped off two years of improvement with the title.
“It was huge. They went in to this year knowing they could compete and we had about 25 guys back from the team and those guys were able to tell the other guys what it’s all about, so there’s a lot of leadership there,” Kirby said. “There was a lot of knowledge of what to expect from the league.”
The biggest thing Kirby noticed improvement from was the offensive and defensive lines.
Both lines were a huge reason the Red Dogs were so successful.
“I think the lines on both sides of the ball. The defensive line got better every game. They stuffed the run, no one could run up the middle against us,” Kirby said. “And the offensive line, those guys got tougher every game, too. We didn’t think we had much depth and we were missing one of our starters for the final game, but the young guys stepped in and did a really good job.
“And the running backs were great. We were young going in, we had two Grade 10s, a Grade 9 and just one Grade 11, but they were definitely the best in the league.”
Anchored by an outstanding defence all season, the Red Dogs once again proved their defence was one of the best by posting a shutout in the finals.
“Our D had a lot of pride and I think we had three shutouts this year. That’s a huge thing for them, the defence didn’t like to get scored on,” Kirby said. “We were really deep on defence.”
From start to finish, Kirby said the season was very enjoyable and to see the team hoist the trophy was a great sight and he is happy he was able to experience it with the coaching staff and all the kids.
“Our coaching staff, a core four of us having been coaching together for a few years, so we got to know each other and it’s been really nice,” he said. “For us, it was rewarding to see the players lift the trophy at the end of the game. And for the players, a lot of guys were very dedicated and it showed that if you work towards a goal, you can meet it.”
The Red Dogs will host their banquet Thursday night to wrap up an outstanding year.