The Westlock Thunderbirds football team came out strong, but ultimately faltered on Friday against the Holy Rosary Raiders from Lloydminster, who scored a 35-0 victory.
The T-Birds were unlikely to score their first win of the season against the Holy Rosary Raiders, who have blanked every other Wheatland Football League opponent this year, except for the Bonnyville Voyageurs.
Nonetheless, coach Jon Kramer said the coaching staff really amped up the Thunderbirds this week in preparation for facing the Raiders.
They talked to the players about how every football game has 130 plays and the importance of starting fresh with each play.
“It was neat to see them amped up for a big game, as opposed to being nervous, or feeling like they had already lost,” Kramer said. “We worked really hard with them that week and we were excited that they came out firing.”
Sure enough, the first quarter ended without a touchdown. Kramer noted they managed to force Lloydminster to punt a couple times and even hopped on a fumble.
“We kind of got out unscathed in the first quarter, which was against their starters as well,” he said. “So we were really thrilled with that.
As the game wore on the T-Birds struggled to move the ball and Kramer said he believes that wore on the Thunderbirds, who slipped into a 21-0 deficit at the end of the first half.
Kramer said Westlock’s offensive issues were perhaps his own fault. Although the T-Birds are a young bunch, “maybe I needed to do more of a re-imagining for that opponent,” he added.
In any case, the second half was much the same as the second quarter, although Westlock did manage to interrupt some of Lloydminister’s passes.
Kramer noted the physicality of Lloydminister’s team also wore down on the T-Birds, as the size difference between the two teams was noticeable.
“This is very much a veteran year for them,” Kramer said. “We’re kind of on the start of a new cycle … There was a bit of a size disadvantage.”
When all is said and done, however, Kramer said the coaching staff were thrilled with the effort showed.
“We know that (the Holy Rosary Raiders are) one of the two teams really playing for the league championship,” he said. “But we feel like we’re in the mix now for the consolation final, which is sort of the bottom six teams in the Wheatland League.”
Expressing hope for a consolation final win may sound funny for a team that hasn’t won a regular season game yet, but Kramer said that “we kind of feel like we’re poised to do well going into the playoffs here.”
On Oct. 6, the Westlock Thunderbirds host the Athabasca Pacers for an exhibition game starting at 4 p.m. — the game is being held a day early because of the long weekend.
While there’s not much at stake, it should be an even match-up, as Athabasca has similarly been unable to snatch a league win all season.
We’re excited to play them. We didn’t get to last year, so it’s a chance to renew the rivalry we’ve had for years with them,” he said.
