There were games that got the heart pumping and others that broke your hearts in the Okotoks area.
The past 12 months have been a thrilling one for Foothills area sports fans, whether it be at the pro level or watching the Dawgs take a run at another title.
Here are my top eight stories of the year:
1. Dawgs gore Bulls in Game 5
The Okotoks Dawgs were on the verge of ending an unlikely mediocre Dawg-season when they found themselves down 2-0 to the top-ranked Lethbridge Bulls in the opening round of the Western Major League Baseball playoff in August.
Okotoks battled back to win Games 3 and 4 at a packed Seaman Stadium. They would complete the comeback by beating the Bulls 6-4 in Game 5 in front of a hostile crowd in Lethbridge.
The Dawgs set a WMBL record when 65,012 went through the Seaman Stadium turnstiles this year.
2. Falcons come up a yard short
The Foothills Falcons might have missed going to their second-straight Tier II high school football provincial by one yard.
The Falcons were beaten 23-22 in the provincial semifinal when they were unable to get a Medicine Hat Mohawk kick-off out of the end zone with 12 seconds left on Nov. 15 in the Hat.
The Falcons had rallied to take a 22-15 lead with a minute left. However, the Mohawks were able to get a TD and the one-point rouge in the final minute.
The good news is the Falcons will have more than half their starters returning for next year.
3. Knight time in the NHL
The Okotoks Oilers had their first alumni crack the NHL when centre Corban Knight made his debut with the Calgary Flames on March 5 at the Saddledome against the Ottawa Senators.
The High River native would notch his first NHL goal against the Anaheim Ducks on March 12.
Knight, a Florida Panthers draft-pick, is currently with the Flames’ top affiliate the Adirondack Flames.
4. A bullish run at CFR
The Foothills area made up 25 per cent of the bull riders at the Canadian Finals Rodeo.
Tyler Thomson, Jordan Hansen and Adam Jamison were among the 12 riders to qualify for the championship in Edmonton in November. Thomson nearly slipped in for his second Canadian championship, but finished just behind champion Dakota Buttar. His second-place standing means Thomson, from Black Diamond, will once again be back at the Calgary Stampede.
Thomson, Hansen and Nanton’s Ty Elliott, who also qualified for the CFR happened to travel in the same truck when putting on the miles between rodeos.
A fourth member of the Travelling Cowboys is 2013 Foothills Comp grad Brock Radford
He finished just two out of the final hole for the CFR at 14th place in the final standings.
5. HTA ends Falcons run
The Holy Trinity Academy Knights finally got a feathered monkey off their backs.
The Knights senior boys basketball team downed their cross-town rivals the Foothills Falcons 67-62 at the Comp on Dec. 15.
It was the first time since February of 2007 the Knights had beaten the Falcons, when they did it at the Bishop O’Byrne Basketball tournament.
6. Okotoks grads on the CFL gridiron
Okotoks high school football history was made when the Foothills Composite grads, Calgary Stampeder slotback Anthony Parker and Montreal Alouette linebacker Bryn Roy squared off against each other at McMahon Stadium on June 28. They weren’t the only Okotoks grad to play at McMahon Stadium.
Holy Trinity Academy grad Charlie Power became the first Knight to play in the CFL when he suited up for the red-and-white in the Labour Day Classic against the Eskies.
The season ended with Parker getting fitted for a Grey Cup ring when the Stamps downed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Canada’s biggest party.
7. STS runs up banner at home
The Strathcona-Tweedsmuir Spartans won their fifth consecutive Tier II provincials cross-country championship.
However, this time they were hitting their stride while taking in the scenic view from their own campus.
The Spartans were led by Angus Rawling, who won the bronze medal in the senior boys 6,000m race.
More than 800 runners participated in the run. Cross-country has the most athletes than any other provincial championships held by the Alberta Schools Athletic Association.
8. Pro goes pro
The Boston Red Sox drafted Okotoks’ Jordan Procyshen in the 14th round –434th overall — in late June.
The Holy Trinity Academy grad hit .259 with the Lowell Spinners in 19 games.
Ironically, his first professional hit was picked up by a former Dawg teammate Kasey Coffman, Okotoks 2011 MVP.
Procyshen also hit .300 in nine games with the Greenville Drive of the South Atlantic League.
