ST. PAUL – For the third year in a row, the St. Paul Bengals bantam football team has brought home a provincial championship in the 9-A-Side Tier I category.
It was a tough battle as they come up against the Grande Prairie Raiders - at team that had claimed the Mighty Peace Bantam Football League championship title with a perfect season.
But the Bengals prevailed, winning a close 26-15 victory on Nov. 9 in Grande Prairie.
After the game on Saturday, Head coach Derek Zapisocki said the coaches were extremely proud of the team. The players have worked hard all year - and put up with the coaches pushing them.
“Sometimes we’re really hard on them, trying to make them better, but they bought in," said Zapisocki.
“They worked their butts off, and their efforts [paid off] in the end,” he added.
High school Lions
The St. Paul Lions also had a strong weekend, defeating the Sexsmith Sabres 41-27 in the 3A category, putting them one step closer to claiming a provincial title.
The Lions will now take on the Holy Rosary Raiders in Lloydminster on Nov. 16 for the North Championship. In the south, the Cochrane Cobras will take on the Will Creek Cobras, according to information from Football Alberta.