Comets fall to Titans

By Garrett Simmons

Westwind Weekly News

It was an electric atmosphere Friday night in Raymond, as the community celebrated 50 years of Comets football.

“Brett Ralph did an excellent job of celebrating the 50th anniversary of Comet Football,” said Darryl Salmon, the coach of the 2017 edition of the Comets, who added the vast majority of those 50 Raymond teams had at least one representative from their team that recognized on the field.

As for the game itself, a 28-15 loss to Edmonton’s Harry Ainlay Titans, Raymond simply found itself on the wrong end of a number of huge momentum swings.

“We gave up too many big plays,” said Salmon. “We are young and they had some talent on the offensive side of the ball.”

The Comets are particularly young on the offensive side of the ball, but the coach added that unit was able to find its way as the evening progressed.

“We gained traction late in the game,” he said, and added the coming weeks will be all about improvements and adjustments. “We need to know our assignments better and just react instead of think.”

In terms of highlights from the game, Salmon did make a point to mention the work of one of his team’s newcomers.

“I thought Drake Still provided a spark for us in his first high school game.”

With the season opening now in the rearview mirror, the Comets prepare for a tough test this week, with a game south of the border. Raymond will head to Logan, Utah for a Friday-night date with the Ridgeline High School Riverhawks at Maverik Stadium on the campus of Utah State University.

Salmon added the game will be an exciting trip for his squad, but will come with a fair share of adjustments, which will need to be made to translate to the 11-man American game.

“We lose a man on offence and defence and have to adapt to no motion, so that is always fun. We leave on Thursday and play Friday evening at Maverik Stadium in Logan, Utah. It will be a fun atmosphere.”

Salmon’s expectations for the trip south are simple.

“We want to compete and get over the mental barrier of being mediocre. We have a good group of kids with a lot of potential.”

Get More Westwind Weekly →