The Westlock Thunderbirds played their final Wheatland Football League regular season game last week, falling 19-8 to the Wainwright Commandos to end the season 0-6.
The good news in all of this is the Thunderbirds still have an opportunity to come up with some wins in the WFL consolation playoffs as they travel to Cold Lake Oct. 20 to take on the Royals.
“On the positive side of things, we’ve played our last two games now and we’re headed to Cold Lake this Saturday. If we lose, we’re done, but if we win we get another shot at Wainwright,” said head coach Jon Kramer.
“The upside of all of this is that we know our last two games were games where we should have been able to be really competitive in and hopefully get a win. It was a tough game.”
The weather was miserable with rain for most of the day which turned into blowing snow by the time kickoff rolled around, but bearing the weather is just part of playing football, said Kramer.
“When the temperature dropped and the wind picked up, boy it was something else. We’ve played in worst, but this individual group hadn’t played in anything like that. It’s tough to come to grips with,” he said, noting he had some new offensive plays drawn up of the team, but it was hard to implement them with the weather.
Both teams’ passing yards in the wind and snow left something to be desired, he said.
Kramer said that despite the loss, the coaching staff is proud of the team for making strides every game and for never giving up.
“Everybody really did give their all, which we’re super proud of ... It was another tough loss, but it was another week of learning a bit more about who we are and what we’re made of and where we need to grow for the next week,” said Kramer.
Preparations for the upcoming must-win game for the Thunderbirds includes a strategy to bring the younger players into the game more.
“We really need them to step up so we’re going to kind of renew a focus on them and see if we can light a fire, or turn the lightbulb on, or whatever it takes to get some really good reps out of them. I think that will make some difference for the vets who have been going both ways, just to have a series off here and there,” said Kramer, adding there will also be a few new twists to the gameplay as the team hopes to extend its playoff run into the consolation finals.
