ST. PAUL – The St. Paul Lions defeated the Bonnyville Voyageurs as the Wheatland Football League’s regular season wrapped up last week – with the Lions seeded second following the win on Oct. 19.
During the first half, the Lions rushed to widen the gap, scoring touchdown after touchdown. And by the end of the second quarter, the Lions had gained a 21-7 lead.
The team capitalized on the momentum, with another touchdown just two minutes into the third quarter, followed by another touchdown a few minutes later, ending the third quarter with a score of 35-7.
But, moving into the fourth quarter, any other scoring attempts were halted by the Voyageurs, who reinforced their defense.
With seven minutes left in the game, the Voyageurs scored their second touchdown, closing the gap 41-14.
Neither team backed down as the clock ticked down. Several clashes and calls were made and with less than a second left in the game, the Lions scored another touchdown, ending the game with a final score of 49-14.
John Barton, assistant coach and special teams coordinator for the St. Paul Lions, expressed his pride after the game.
“We had a few mishaps, but all in all, the boys played their hearts out,” he said, adding it is a good game to finish off the regular season.
Landon Peters, a Grade 12 linebacker with the Lions, played a key role in ensuring the Lions’ defenses stayed strong – managing to perform several tackles and interceptions against the opposing team.
Peters noted that while there were quite a few hiccups, for the most part the players did not let mistakes bring down the momentum.
Running back Joseph Pilipchuk, who scored multiple touchdowns for the Lions also noted there were “A lot of mistakes . . . and they capitalized . . . But we got back, so it’s OK.”
The Lions now look forward to playing the Cold Lake Royals on Friday for the first round of playoffs.
Barton said the team is confident heading into the game but does not discount the Royals.
“We always know Cold Lake’s never a guarantee [win]. . . Cold Lake has always been one of our bigger rivals,” said the coach.
“We just have to play our game and we’ll all be good,” added Pilipchuk.
“We beat them last time,” said Peters. “But as we know, sometimes the first game doesn’t always matter. So, we just got to prepare hard for the next game and be ready to play.
Bonnyville taking on Raiders
The Bonnyville Voyageurs will be playing the first seeded Holy Rosary Raiders this week.
Each year, the Raiders have been touted by many as the top team in the league. They boast numerous league and provincial championships, but that streak was broken by the St. Paul Lions last year.
The Raiders have yet to lose a single game this season.