Despite a disappointing Wheatland Football League season opener, the Westlock Thunderbirds are keeping their spirits high and focusing on the positives following a 35-0 Aug. 30 loss to the St. Paul Lions in Fort Saskatchewan.
The Thunderbirds will now head on the road for three games before playing in Westlock Sept. 23 at Friday Night Lights.
“We played a very good team against St. Paul,” said head coach Jon Kramer, noting the Thunderbirds are getting used to being the underdogs.
“We’ve got a good team this year, but the league is strong too. So, we have a lot of strong opponents that we’ll have to play against this year.
“The guys held their own, we just had a few mistakes that we can’t get away with. So, it was a tough loss for the players and coaches, but competition is going to be really stiff this year.”
It was not all bad for the Thunderbirds, however. Kramer highlighted that the team won a solid 20 plays throughout the game and made three interceptions — suggesting the team is well placed to grow a strong game out of their defensive core.
While they have their work cut out for them, Kramer noted the Thunderbirds are Grade 12-heavy in comparison to much of their competition, so he expects the experience of the veterans to be a significant factor in the team’s game plan as the season plays on.
“We’re quite positive. We’ve got a lot of big bodies on our team, we just have to keep working on our technique and try a few new things with our offence,” he said.
“Tristin Gross worked really hard and our linebackers pressured the quarterback and got him to make a few bad decisions. So we can be in the right place at the right time. We’re playing at a level we haven’t in the last few years. We’ve just got to keep putting in the work.”
He added the Thunderbirds were becoming an increasingly regional team, with players coming out from Barrhead and Athabasca to join the team on its excursions to the eastern side of the province.
“We’ve got 31 guys now, with guys from Onoway, Barrhead and such. With the smaller programs in the area we’re becoming quite the conglomeration,” said Kramer.
“The kids are quite excited about seeing what the year holds and have been putting in a lot of work, so we’re giving it our all for them.”
With the regular season now underway, there is no rest of the Thunderbirds.
The team spent the weekend analyzing tapes from the game and hit the turf for practice this week. Their next battle will be Sept. 5 against the 1-0 Lloydminster Composite Barons.
