Thanksgiving weekend gave most people plenty to be happy about, but the Strathmore High School Spartans Football team (3-3) had even more to celebrate, as they beat the rival Drumheller Titans 15-10 last Friday. Head Coach Danny Warrack was happy with the team's effort and the win.

"It was a tough game, lots of penalties, two good defenses going at it against each other, but we came out with the victory which was nice," he said.

A difficult start to the season saw the Spartans (3-3) lose three in a row, but they have since turned it around and are on a two-game win streak. Warrack credits the turn around to the defense, who has been solid in every game and has shown improvement after each week.

"Our defense, they've just kept us in every game and given our struggling offense a chance to work things out, which we usually do. The defense playing well has been crucial to our team's success. Our defensive coordinator Anthony Timmons and his assistant Greg Zaugg are doing a really good job."

There's no doubt good coaching plays an enormous role in the defense excelling, but at the end of the day it's the players on the field making the plays, and Warrack believes that these defenders had their best game in a Spartans uniform:

  • Adam Greenhill
  • Noah Chase-Samuels
  • Tehoyan Park
  • Gage Robison

The defense played a big role once again in the win against the Titans, as limiting them to 10 points was enough to earn another win. Even with the win, Warrack is looking at ways the team can improve.

"We had one touchdown called back due to a penalty, penalties just killed us all game. I think we could've maybe gotten another touchdown or two. But give Drumheller credit, they have a pretty good team."

While the defense excelled once again, it was a struggle for the offense against a stout Drumheller D. Last week Warrack changed the offense by moving Dylan Elliot to starting quarterback, while former starter Brady Johansen lined up all over the field. The game against the Titans saw a return back to Johansen to give the offense the spark they needed.

"The new quarterback (Elliot) played well, he played the first three quarters. When we were down 10-7 I ended up moving him to receiver and putting Brady Johansen back at quarterback, just because the game seemed to be changing and I needed a running quarterback."

The change doesn't signal a return to Johansen as starting QB for the future though. Warrack is sticking with Elliot to lead the offense.

"Dylan Elliott, he's my guy, but in certain situations, I might go back to Johansen. I like having a veteran that has a lot of starting experience as the backup for sure, just in case."

The Spartans will look to make it three wins in a row this Saturday, when they travel to Canmore to take on the Wolverines at 1:00 PM.

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