Another banner was added to the Raymond High School gym on Thursday, as the Comets football team celebrated its tier one provincial championship.
“It feels really good,” said Jay Heggie, defensive back and linebacker on the team.
“I’ve come in here my whole life and seen all these banners, and always wanted to put one up there. It’s very, very special for me.”
But the Comets’ 34-15 championship win over the Harry Ainlay Titans seemed out of reach early in the season.
The team stumbled out of the gate, winning just one of its first four games, including a matchup with the Lake City Timberwolves from Idaho.
“We came in a little bit arrogant into the season, but once we started conditioning and realized we actually need to work it went a lot better and we started winning,” wide receiver and running back Pyken Easthope said.
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Head coach Connor Ralph credits the player’s change in mentality for the team’s turnaround.
“We just corrected the little things and didn’t panic,” Ralph said.
“The kids really bought into changing positions or doing their job, and I think that made a big difference going down the stretch.”
The Comets would roll through the rest of the regular season, securing the second seed for provincials.
After giving up just six points combined in its quarter- and semi-final matchups, Raymond jumped out to an early 28-0 lead over Harry Ainlay, who beat the Comets in their season opener.
“In general, people in life need to be humbled sometimes and I think our kids going into the year thought they were just going to walk over teams. But that for sure wasn’t the case,” Ralph said.
“I think an early loss can sometimes be the biggest benefit.”
The Comets didn’t look back, cruising to the football program’s eighth provincial win in school history and its first since 2010.
“It was kind of emotional at the end with it being my last year here… but I couldn’t finish it off better,” Heggie said.
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