Owls fall to Groom

By Fred Gray

The Hedley Owls fell to the Groom Tigers, 38-12, in their season opener in Groom, last Friday, August 31. The Owls’ defense was scrappy and tough, imposing its will on the Groom offense. The Groom offense may have been bigger and faster than Hedley, but the Owls’ defense dominated the first half with gang tackling and players flying to the ball.

On offense, after Groom took a six to zero lead with a 46 yard run by Brady Painter, Hedley immediately answered when Tanner Chambless scampered five yards for a touchdown. Klaiton Moore, Hedley’s version of the Lone Ranger, set up the touchdown with a sparkling 32 yard kickoff return after Groom’s touchdown.

After each team scored on their first possession, neither team was unable to punch the ball into the end zone for the remainder of the first half. Late in the first half, Hedley put together a long drive that started on their 26 yard line and ended on downs at the Groom 12 yard line. Groom then ran out the final 1:38 of the first half.

In the second half, the overall team speed and size of Groom eventually wore down the Hedley defense. Trailing 22 – 6 in the second half, Hedley scored again, thanks to two long runs, of 25 and a 35 yard touchdown, by senior running back Coltin Kingston, cutting the Groom lead to 10 points.

Groom’s superior size and speed took over, and the Tigers stretched their lead to the final score, 38-12. The Owls played their hearts out and left everything on the field. They have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about and should be proud of their efforts. The game was hard fought and very entertaining.

The Owls travel to Lefors this Friday, September. Kickoff is at 7:30 PM.